


Spinner of Webs

by WelcomeToEstalia



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Blood and Violence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Daedric Artifacts (Elder Scrolls), Evil Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26091718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WelcomeToEstalia/pseuds/WelcomeToEstalia
Summary: Her name is known by few, and those that do know it, speak it with fear and reverence. In her wake, kingdoms fall, thousands die, all while the gods laugh within the shadows. She is Arlene Volkihar, Dragonborn, Listener, Nightingale, Mistress of Vampires, Champion of Mephala, Boethiah, and a dozen other Daedric Princes, and she has come to Remnant to play.
Relationships: Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn/Serana
Comments: 18
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Emperor's Quarters, aboard** _**The Katariah** _ **, 6th of Hearthfire, 4E211…**

Emperor Tullius Aurelius rubbed his temples, massaging away a migraine that hadn't even begun yet. This is not where he thought his life would go. It's been 10 years since Emperor Tullius was once General Tullius, military governor of Skyrim. 10 years since that fateful day in Helgen, when the dragons reappeared, and he first met that woman who would change not only all of Skyrim, but all of Tamriel.

Within the wooden halls of _The Katariah_ , flanked by two crimson Imperial flags, Tullius stood over a simple table with a map of the Summerset Isles on it. This was the very same room that Titus Mede II stayed in when he was assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood. A very large part of Tullius suspected that _she_ had something to do with his predecessor's murder, but he lacked any definite proof, and Tullius would not dare try and cross her with accusations and investigations.

Across from him were his two most important subordinates, the two women he couldn't run the Empire without. To his left was General Rikke, his former legate, current military governor of Skyrim, and overall military commander of the Imperial forces. To his right, was Grand Master Delphine of the Blades, the Empire's premiere intelligence, security, and dragon hunting organization. The Emperor had been locked in this room with these two women for the past 30 minutes arguing about plans for the next steps of their campaign.

General Rikke leaned down over the map and began moving pieces. It was a detailed map of the Summerset Isles, having cities, towns, forts, and roads all experty cartographed onto it. Several red and yellow miniature flags were placed atop it, representing Imperial and Thalmor armies respectively. Rikke moved two red flags over the city of Shimmerene, and one more over the city of Sunhold, removing any yellow flags that were within those settlements.

"The 1st and 5th Legions have successfully captured the Shimmerene, while Legate Cipius' 8th Legion is currently sacking Sunhold. With that, the last bastions of Thalmor resistance outside of Alinor have fallen." General Rikke sterly explained. "The Thalmor now have no more supply lines or support armies to help them lift the siege of their Capital. Given a few weeks, if not months, Alinor's food supplies will run out, and they will surrender the city."

Delphine scowled as she replied with frustration pouring through her words. "But like I've been saying the siege will take too long. We may have cut off all physical supply and escape routes, but this is the High Elves we are talking about. Their mastery of magic is greater than other race. If we give them too much time they may discover alternative means of retreat. We all know of the old Waystone network, or the guild guides of the former Mages Guild. Teleportation magic is feasible, and if the Thalmor can uncover that old magic they will escape! We need to attack while we have the advantage!"

Tullius rubbed his chin, contemplating what to do. Both ideas had pros and cons. A prolonged siege meant that he wouldn't be throwing thousands of legionnaires into the meatgrinder of Alinor's walls. The 4th Legion had the docks blockaded while the 2nd and 3rd Legions encircled the city, already having built many siege machines and defensive fortifications. No one was getting out of that city normally.

But the Thalmor were also crafty bastards. If there was anyone in Tamriel who could weasel their way out of this mess, it would be them. If they wanted to end the war with as few possible loose ends, the sooner they struck the better.

"I for one, agree with Delphine." A new voice spoke out.

All three within the room froze. They had locked themselves in the war room 30 minutes ago, and the doors had not been opened since. But that was not what caused them all to freeze. It was the fact that they all recognized the voice. It was a smooth, almost sultry voice, that always carried hints of amusement and condescension. As if she was educating young children that had said something silly.

They all recognized it as _her_ voice. The voice of the ally that won the Skyrim Civil War for them. The voice of the woman who saved the world from its destruction. They turned to the shadowy corner of the room where the voice originated, and stared at their guest with a healthy mixture of respect, admiration,and _fear._ Out of the shadows appeared Arlene Volkihar, the Dragonborn, the savior of the Empire, former Harbinger of the Companions, mistress of Vampires, and unbeknownst to them, Nightingale of Nocturnal and Listener of Sithis.

Tullius, Rikke, and Delphine all knew what Arlene looked like, having first met her during the very beginnings of her adventure in Skyrim. A bosmer wood elf from Valenwood, Arlene was a shorter, lithe, wood elf with tan skin, silken black hair cut into a neat bob cut, and a soft, beautiful face that gave no indication of the monster that was underneath. At least, that's what she would look like if her body wasn't completely concealed by the black leather armor of the Nightingales. The midnight cowl and hood obscured her face, but even through the small slit left for sight, they could see Arlene's formerly silver eyes glow bright orange. On her waist was a golden katana, one that all three of the quickly recognized. It was Goldbrand, the Daedric artifact of Boethiah, and formerly the sword of Titus Mede II.

By the Dragonborn's side was her sister of the night, her ever faithful and loyal companion, scion of clan Volkihar, current Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold and probably the most powerful mage on the planet, Serana Volkihar. Only truly immortal mages and liches who, like Serana, retained knowledge of pre-Oblivion Crisis spells, such as the over 4000 year old Divayth Fyr of House Telvanni, could challenge that claim. She wore her red and black leather Vampire Royal Armor with her hood up. On her waist was the katana used by her father Harkon, and on her back was the Staff of Magnus, the symbol of her authority as Arch-Mage.

"Arlene, Serana." Tullius flatly greeted, years of military discipline steeling his heart as his shocked expression was changed to a facade of stoicism. They scared him, yes, but he wasn't going to act like a sniveling bootlicker in front of them.

Arlene's eyes gazed over the three in the room. Here, on the eve of the final battle, the end of the Second Great War and all of her machinations, Arlene couldn't help but feel nostalgic and think about the past.

First she looked at General Rikke. Tullius' loyal lapdog, Rikke took Tullius' old position as general and governor of Skyrim when he became Emperor. Arlene always liked Rikke. Tough and honorable, albeit a bit boring and forgettable, she was a true Nord through and through. Arlene had no doubts that if sided with the Stormcloaks and killed the Imperials instead, she would've seen Rikke in Sovngarde. And as it was during the Skyrim Civil War, Rikke still led Tullius's army on the ground, sacking and razing Aldmeri cities by his orders.

Then her eyes were fixed on General Tullius. Ah no, _Emperor_ Tullius, for all the worth that title gave him. Behind her mask she could only smile at the man. Tullius was a good soldier, an even better general, but hard headed military types were always easy to manipulate.

When she first met Tullius, Arlene was a broken woman fleeing her past, her head on a chopping block for mere seconds of association with rebels. The second time she met Tullius, Arlene was famous for a multitude of reasons, a Harbinger of the Companions, thane of multiple holds, rumored Guild Master of the Thieves Guild, but most importantly she was the undisputed Dragonborn. She was the famous slayer of Alduin, while Tullius was a man on the verge of defeat.

Despite the temporary ceasefire with the Stormcloaks due to the Dragon Crisis, the Empire was losing. With the Emperor's assassination, Legion recruitment plummeted while Stormcloak ranks swelled. No one wanted to serve an Empire that couldn't even protect its own leader. Meanwhile avalanches in the Pale Pass prevented any Imperial reinforcements going North from Cyrodiil. The war was mostly a stalemate, but the death of the Emperor was the catalyst that pushed it to Stormcloak favor. Tullius was a great strategist to be sure, probably the best in the Empire, but even he saw that the situation in Skyrim was becoming untenable for the Imperials.

That is, until Arlene walked through the doors of Castle Dour. That day Arlene said that she heard of the Emperor's assassination, and she wanted to enlist. Tullius never swore someone into the Legion so quickly before. It was no secret to Tullius that Arlene pretty much single handedly won the war for him. And it wasn't just because of her martial prowess.

She was a storm across the battlefield yes, everything that came near her died in a flurry of blades and magic. But more importantly she was a symbol. Despite being an elf, she was a hero and symbol of peace and honor to all of Skyrim, one he was quick to exploit. Couriers were dispatched in droves to all holds, announcing that the Dragonborn had allied with the Empire. Imperial recruiting stations were flooded with new recruits who wanted to serve underneath the heroine of Skyrim. Public support for the Stormcloaks all but evaporated, and many even defected to the Empire.

What was once a stalemate that lasted months swiftly turned into a one sided slaughter. The Empire achieved victory after victory against the Stormcloaks, with Arlene quickly being promoted to Legate, leading her own Legion during the final Battle of Windhelm. As General Tullius predicted, the war ended when the Dragonborn cut off Ulfric Stormcloak's head, and watched it roll away from his lifeless body.

With the war over, General Tullius was more than ready for an easier time as the governor of a united, loyal, Imperial Skyrim. But the Empire's situation was still precarious at best. With Titus Mede II dead, having left no clear heir, the High Chancellor ruled as regent, and the Aldmeri Dominion smelled weakness.

Many questioned who would become the next Emperor. Following the end of the war, Tullius had privately suggested to Arlene that she make a claim for the throne. She was, after all, Dragonborn, giving her more claim to the throne of Talos than anyone else. And he would be more than happy to back her claim. To his surprise, Arlene disagreed.

Arlene had no skill or interest in ruling. She knew nothing of governance, of infrastructure and taxes. Her skills were that of the cloak and dagger, not the quill and ink. She was under no illusion that if she took the throne, the Empire would spiral downward in a vortex of mismanagement.

It was then that Arlene told him the truth of her past. Before coming to Skyrim Arlene was born in Valenwood, a Thalmor vassal, over a hundred years ago. As an adolescent, she served as a scout and ranger for the Aldmeri Dominion. During the First Great War, she had fought on the Dominion's side, and even participated in the Sack of the Imperial City 30 years ago. But the cruelty and destruction of the war disgusted her, and she left the Dominion, becoming a sellsword that travelled across Tamriel. That period of her life was spent in a drunken haze, until one day she decided to illegally cross Skyrim's borders and walked right into an Imperial ambush.

Arlene actually had no interest in getting involved in Skyrim's Civil War or with the Empire. She had her fill of warfare in the Imperial City. It wasn't until she started working with Delphine and infiltrated the Thalmor Embassy, where she learned of the Thalmor purges against the bosmer in Valenwood, that she swore to destroy them. And the only way to destroy the Thalmor was with a united Empire.

But regardless of her own plans and past, Arlene knew that no one would want an elf on the Ruby Throne, especially not an elf that was once actively part of the Aldmeri Dominion. And if the Dominion were half as good at investigating as she _knew_ they were, they were already aware of her past and were waiting to use it against her. No, putting her on the throne was just asking for another civil war. Instead, Arlene suggested that General Tullius should seize power.

Tullius was shocked at the suggestion. He didn't want to be Emperor. He was content with being a General and governor. But Arlene had a way with words that made her seem more like a child of Dibella rather than Akatosh. She explained that the Empire needed a strong leader with a vision now more than ever. Tullius was a war hero, beloved by Skyrim and Cyrodiil for putting down the Stormcloaks. Not only that, he had full control over the largest and most experienced Legions of the Empire. And if she publicly supported him, he wouldn't have to use them.

And so, with the prodding of the Dragonborn, her public endorsement, and unknown to Tullius, her secret support via the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood, in the year 4E202, General Tullius Aurelius became Emperor Tullius of the Aurelius dynasty. While Tullius had his suspicions, Arlene never told him that she was the one that killed Titus Mede II.

Mede was a weak ruler who couldn't even control his own Elder Council. He stood no chance against the Aldmeri Dominion when war resumed. Tullius however, was a military minded man who could fight on even ground with the Dominion. He also owed most of his success to Arlene, and would follow all of her _suggestions_ to the letter. His obedience was further ensured with the fact that the Blades, once again the Emperor's protectors, ultimately followed Arlene, not him. Arlene may not be Empress, but she controlled the Empire.

Arlene finally looked at Delphine. Ah Delphine. Arlene long wondered if keeping Delphine around was worth the trouble. She was proud, and even disobedient at times, but her skill and mastery of subterfuge was too valuable a tool to just throw away. During the Dragon Crisis, Arlene put much time and effort working with Delphine and Esbern to bring the Blades back from extinction. Mercenaries, spies, mages, and more were recruited across Skyrim into the Blades, creating an elite team of Dragon hunters. But despite their apparently undying "loyalty" to the Dragonborn, they refused to follow her unless she killed her ally Paarthurnax. Arlene almost killed them all then and there solely for the audacity of their insubordination.

Once Harkon, Alduin, Miraak, and the Stormcloaks were defeated, and the Thalmor became the next greatest threat, Arlene meditated on what to do about this dilemma. Ultimately, she decided to tear Paarthurnax's soul from his body. Despite everything the old dragon did to help her stop Alduin, his dedication to pacifism, neutrality, and his Way of the Voice caused him to outlive his usefulness. Arlene needed the Blades for the war against the Thalmor, while Paarthurnax had no interest in the wars of mortals and refused to aid her cause.

But perhaps more importantly, Arlene came to one final conclusion through her meditation. There was one truth that Paarthurnax taught her. It was that dragons were made to dominate. Where once there was Arlene, the scarred bosmer running from war, now stood Dovahkiin, with blood of both Dov and Molag Bal running through her veins, seeking nothing but war and domination.

Once she embraced who she was, she found Paarthurnax's Way of the Voice to be abhorrent. She was made to rule, to dominate. If Jurgen Windcaller and his fellow Tongues fell at Red Mountain, it was not because they were misusing the thu'um, but because they were simply too weak. Alduin could not resist her thu'um, so why should she submit to Paarthurnax when she proved herself greater than Akatosh's first born?

And not even Paarthurnax could truly escape his nature. He wished to lead the dragons by forcing the Way of the Voice upon them. But it was as Odahviing said, it was merely exchanging the tyranny of Alduin for the tyranny of Paarthurnax. Paarthurnax wished to dominate them with his Way of the Voice, to rule over them like Alduin did, whether he realized it or not. And that, Arlene would not stand for. For if there was one tyrant the dov should obey, it was not Alduin or Paarthurnax, but Dovahkiin. Paarthurnax was a good teacher, but now he was a rival.

When Paarthurnax's body lay broken beneath her, his soul in her possession, Arlene then returned to the Blades, reforging it into the organization it once was. With the help of Emperor Tullius, the Blades absorbed the Penitus Oculatus, gaining their members, resources, and connections, once again becoming the premier spies and bodyguards for the Empire. With Delphine's trust in the Dragonborn fully cemented by the death of Paarthurnax, she became fanatically loyal to her, in essence giving the Dragonborn full control over the Blades and its resources.

But despite all of this history Arlene shared with the three people in this room, despite all she had done with and for them, they couldn't help but fear her. And Arlene wouldn't have it any other way. They feared her so they would obey her, but they didn't hate her so they wouldn't turn on her. It was a precarious balance Arlene played with, but that's what made it fun.

It was a fear that not only stemmed from the fact that she could easily kill all three of them in seconds, such was the power of the Dragonborn. But they feared her because everything that had occured in the past 8 years since the end of the Dragon Crisis, happened because Arlene willed it. Through her connections alone, entire kingdoms would thrive or die. She sent Valenwood and Elsweyr into full revolution with her subterfuge, freeing them from Aldmeri control without a single drop of Legion blood. Entire families that supported the Dominion would disappear at her word, while those sympathetic to the Empire would become rich beyond measure. Fires of rebellion were stoked, voices called out for retribution against the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the bosmer and khajiit, all while the Lord of Plots and the Webspinner cackled in the distance.

Tullius spoke up first, breaking Arlene out of her nostalgic stupor. "If you think we should attack, then we'll attack." Tullius knew better than to question her now. While he wasn't a mindless slave who would do what he was always told, if the plan made strategic and tactical sense, he would be more than willing to follow it despite its cost. "The 4th Legion will push on the docks with their galleys, take control through an amphibious assault, hitting the city from the West. Any argonian soldiers we have should be immediately reallocated there. Meanwhile, the 2nd and 3rd will push from the East by land, using their siege towers to take the walls. The 7th will wait in reserve, reinforcing any part of the attack that slows."

General Rikke nodded her head, accepting the orders despite her reservations, and immediately thinking of threats to the operation's success. "Those walls are heavily fortified. Even with all of our archers, battlemages, and artillery suppressing the defenders, the infantry will take heavy losses, especially with how slow the siege towers move."

"The siege towers are a distraction." Arlene disinterestedly stated, casually waving off the potential deaths of hundreds. "If they land, good, but otherwise they'll just attract attention while the 7th will go through the front gate."

"Our heaviest battering rams wouldn't be able to get through those gates, but I'm assuming you have a plan for that." Delphine replied with a smirk.

Arlene returned one behind her mask. "Leave the gatehouse to me. I'll get it open." She spoke with confidence, not arrogance. She knew she could get it open, and so did everyone else in the room. There were no arguments to her plan.

Emperor Tullius nodded his head. "Then we're in agreement. Arlene will take the gate, at which point the 7th Legion kept in reserve will flood through. Once we're in the city, we push to the palace, and force the King of Alinor to surrender or die. We'll begin the attack at dusk. Dismissed." Tullius said to Delphine and Rikke.

Arlene couldn't help but shake her head. If there was anything she missed about serving under Tullius, it was his gruff and brusque demeanor. Much more palatable than the placating politicians and businessmen that tried to play with her. Both Delphine and Rikke saluted and made their way to the door. Arlene, and by extension Serana, who was leaning on a wall, bored at the military talks, stayed. Rikke gave a curt nod to her while Delphine saluted as well before leaving.

When the door closed behind them, Arlene turned to Tullius and spoke, her voice dripping with delight. "So Emperor, are you ready for the glory of victory?"

Tullius scowled at her. "I'm not here for glory. I'm here to put down a mad, genocidal government that threatens the peace of Tamriel." Tullius was not in the mood to play Arlene's games.

"You should smile, Emperor. You are bringing peace, freedom, and security to your Empire, achieving what only the likes of Tiber Septim and Reman Cyrodiil have claimed." Arlene smirked. "History will look at you and your dynasty as heroes and conquerors, unlike the Medes."

"There's no reason to insult the dead." Tullius growled.

"Ah, my mistake, my Emperor." Arlene sarcastically cackled, giving an overly dramatic bow.

"By the Nine, I thought I told you enough with the damn sarcasm!" Tullius snapped. "And stop it with 'Emperor this' and 'Emperor that.' I already know that I'm only a puppet ruler for you, so there's no need to keep rubbing my nose in it." Tullius had never actually called out Arlene for using him as a puppet before. But the stresses of war combined with her aggravating attitude had severely worn down his patience.

Arlene was actually taken aback by the Emperor's outburst. Even Serana raised a curious eyebrow at the cracks in Tulius's stoic demeanor.

"Apologies, Tullius." Her voice now controlled and respectful, albeit hesitant to show remorse. "If it makes you feel any better, this whole war will be over soon. The Thalmor will all die, and I'll be out of your hair soon enough. Or whatever is left of it." Arlene couldn't help but throw some kind of quip in.

Instinctively, Tullius rubbed his hand over his hair. A large bald spot had appeared upon his scalp, ruining his pristine military crewcut. He blamed it on the stress of being Emperor. He let his hand drop as his shoulders sagged. Only the Dragonborn, Serana, and his own wife Elsif had seen him break posture like that before. Tullius felt the years piled up on him.

And that was another thing the Dragonborn had convinced him to do. When Tullius took the role of Emperor, he was "encouraged" by damn near everyone to take on a wife so he could get an heir. Arlene suggested the recently widowed High Queen Elsif of Skyrim. A marriage between the two would strengthen the bond between the Empire and Skyrim, and merge the thrones of the Cyrodiil's Emperor and Skyrim's High King. Elsif agreed, and while it was a loveless political marriage, they gave each other polite respect, and even sired two sons, the young Torygg Aurellius and Uriel Aurellius.

"All of this, just to bring down the Thalmor. The years of plotting and planning, the machinations, all to bring them to their knees. Is that really all you want? All you care for?" Tullius couldn't help but ask.

Getting Arlene to speak straight and true about anything was damn near impossible. With her it was always sarcasm and double talk. Thinly veiled lies weaved into truths, all hiding even deeper falsehoods. Arlene was the master of a feint, within a feint, within a feint. She was a creature of deception and lies, of distraction and omissions. So impossible was it to get a truthful answer from her, Tullius even doubted if she knew what was fact or fiction anymore.

"All I want is to see the Thalmor burn." Arlene said seriously. "They are the greatest opponents I've ever had. The dragons and Stormcloaks were hilariously straight forward. The intrigue of the Vampire court proved a worthy adversary, but they fell in time. But the Thalmor were conniving, powerful, and arrogant. They had the skill and resources to drag the game out for years, and now that they are finally under my boot, I feel… satisfied."

Arlene was a creature of conflict. While she lived for domination, she cared not for actually ruling over peasants. She did not do all of this because she sought to rule the Empire, but because she found the grand strategy of building and destroying empires _fun_. She made war to solely sate her lust for destroying opponents of equal skill. She made Tullius Emperor so she could control the Empire's actions without having to actually deal with ruling it.

"And what is the cost of this 'game' of yours? This battle alone will cost thousands of lives on both sides." Tullius plainly said. He couldn't even feel bad about it, not anymore. It was already just a statistic to him.

"Many more when the Legion starts sacking and razing the city." Arlene added on. "Molag Bal will be satiated tonight." From the edge of her vision, Arlene could see Serana frown at her comment.

"That's not going to happen." Tullius sternly objected. "My men are too disciplined for that. We are not barbarians."

"Of course, Emperor." Arlene smirked behind her mask. "Besides, regardless from whom the blood is spilled, Boethiah will be pleased."

Tullius could only sigh and shake his head at Arlene's casual Daedra worship. "Sometimes I wonder if it would've been better if you were executed in Helgen." he muttered.

Arlene couldn't help but laugh out loud at that statement. "HA! Yes, perhaps leaving you all to the jaws of Alduin would've been more merciful than myself. At least Alduin would've made quick work of Nirn, rather than prolong the suffering." Arlene shook her head and walked up beside the Emperor, looking him in the eyes. "We are almost to the finish line, Emperor. Do not lose faith in me yet. I will see us through."

"It's not about faith dammit it's about trust!" Tullius snapped again. "And even after Skyrim, after the Civil War and Alduin, after years of war against the Thalmor, I don't trust you." Tullius felt a weight lift off his shoulders as he finally admitted that.

All was silent in the room. Several seconds passed before Arlene finally spoke. "And that's probably the best decision you've made since becoming Emperor." Arlene admitted. "You are far too smart to waste away in the frozen North of Skyrim, Tullius." Arlene turned and made her way to the door, Serana falling in line behind her. As she opened it, she paused and turned her head back to the Emperor one final time. "I wish you a long and successful reign."

And with that Arlene and her companion vanished from sight.

* * *

Arlene stood with Serana in the crow's nest of the _Katariah_ , overlooking the Imperial fleet bustle with activity. The orders had been passed down the chain, and the fleet of Imperial warships were getting ready to make landfall. The pre-battle chaos was more than enough of a distraction for the two vampires to easily slip up the mast undetected.

"So Tullius is now openly questioning you." Serana casually commented as she played with a bat in her hand.

"I know." Arlene grunted in annoyance. She sighed, "Perhaps I've been pushing him too hard, held the reins too tightly. Mortals can be temperamental with how they spend their brief existences, and resent losing so much agency. I know I did."

When Arlene first discovered she was Dragonborn, she fought tooth and nail to avoid her so-called destiny and prophecy. She came to Skyrim for a new start, not to become some mythical Nordic hero, and she was not happy about some gods taking away her choice in the matter.

"What are you going to do about it? Kill him once the war is over?" Serana asked. Serana had been with Arlene for so long that the removal of rebellious pieces was common enough, and such assassinations were also common in Harkon's court. "Elsif would be more than controllable as Queen-regent, and we can manipulate Torygg's growth so his loyalty would be unquestioned."

Arlene thought on this. It would be easy to kill Tullius and replace him with someone completely loyal, but that came with a host of other problems. Assassins and Emperors may be forever entertwined in the weave of fate, but to have two emperor's assassinated in a row? That showed weakness.

Arlene shook her head. "No, doing that would put the Empire in too weak of a position. The other provinces would never capitulate to Elsif, no matter how much support we give her from the shadows. No, perhaps it might be time to step back. Leave the Tullius and the Empire be for now, give them some breathing room. In a few decades, Tullius will be dead anyway, and perhaps we could snatch up one of his descendents. A grandson or something."

And that was the greatest boon of immortality. Arlene could now make plans and schemes that spanned _generations_ , planting seeds of a plot only to reap its benefits decades or centuries later.

Serana nodded her head, then sent off the bat in a puff of magic energy, teleporting it to relay the message she entrusted. "And the message is sent. Your forces will be ready soon."

Arlene smiled. "Good. We'll need the entirety of the Blackguard present, not to mention I feel that they must be getting bored protecting all of my junk in Castle Volkihar."

"It is literally their job to do so." Serana commented, before turning to her companion. "So, this is really it. Have to say, I haven't been this nervous since we confronted my father, or when you teleported to Sovngarde to fight Aludin."

"Aye those were pretty intense. Gods, I remember I was so nervous when I went to go fight Alduin, I didn't know whether the first thing to come out of my mouth was going to be my thu'um or my lunch." Arlene laughed.

Serana smiled at the honest, casual display of weakness that Arlene showed her. Serana was one of the few people in the world that Arlene wouldn't lie to, she loved her too much. When they were alone, Arlene wasn't Dovahkiin, master of lies, Champion of the Daedra, and grand manipulator, instead she was her family and best friend.

"But Tullius did bring up a good point. The war's almost over, what do you want to do next?" Serana asked as she sat down, letting her legs hang off the crow's nest.

Arlene thought for a moment as she sat down beside her . "Hmm, we could leave the Empire behind for a bit, like I said. Plenty of places we can go have adventures. We could head to Morrowind, maybe try and find Vivec. Or maybe a trip to Akavir, find out if they really have a tiger-dragon emperor. Oh! Or we could go to Black Marsh! I've always wanted to see if the Argonians are actually mind controlled by a giant tree." Arlene was actually getting giddy at the prospect of a new adventure.

"What about Valenwood?" Serana interjected. "Last we were there it was all business, starting a revolution and all that. We never got to see any of the sights, visit your hometown, or see the giant tree that _your_ people worship."

Arlene tensed up a bit, slightly uncomfortable at casually returning to her ancestral homeland. "You're thinking of the Elden Tree. And it's an important place for my people, but we don't really worship it. We worship it as much as the Nords worship the Throat of the World, or the Dunmer the Red Mountain." Arlene shrugged. "But if you want to go there, we can do that."

Serana smiled, "You know, it really has been a while since we've gone on an adventure, just the two of us." Her smile then shifted to a more teasing smirk. "But I know you, Arlene. You live and breathe politics and intrigue. Without it I'm worried you'd shrivel up like a draugr. I'd give it a month before you install yourself into the local government and start an uprising or civil war of some kind."

"All honesty, those are some pretty generous odds you're giving me." Arlene chuckled. She knew what she was, and did not shirk away from her instincts and desires. Wherever she went, kingdoms fell. It was only natural for the champion of Boethiah and Mephala, amongst others.

"But wherever we go, I'll be right behind you. When we stopped my Father, I vowed to stay by your side, from the depths of Oblivion, to the gates of Aetherius and beyond." Serana declared, scooching closer to the Dragonborn and wrapping her arm around her.

Arlene rested her head on Serana's shoulder, "To Aetherius and beyond..."

* * *

"CHARRGE!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!"

"VICTORY OR SOVNGARDE!"

The roar of thousands of different battle cries echoed through the night sky as the Empire began its attack on the walls of Alior. Fireballs and flaming rocks, flung by both battlemages and trebuchets pelted the walls, enveloping unlucky defenders in a torrent of fire and death.

Elven battlemages and archers returned fire, their spells and arrows expertly launched, killing their targeted legionnaires, only for 5 more to replace them. It was a battle of quantity versus quality. The high elf defenders each had decades if not centuries of experience thanks to their naturally long lives. Objectively, each Thalmor elf was worth 2 Imperial Legionnaires. But this did not help them when they were outnumbered 5 to 1.

The battle continued on as massive siege towers lumbered towards the city walls. The massive, monolithic engines of war were magnets for elven fireballs and ballistae, and despite the iron reinforcements and magic warding, towers began collapsing in flaming explosions.

But each tower killed extracted a heavy cost from the defenders. Imperial archers, mages, and artillerists continually bombarded them volley after volley, whittling down their numbers as the remaining towers approached. There were just too many towers for the defenders to take down, and soon enough the landing gangplanks extended and the Legion began its grinding melee against the Elven warriors.

As the battle crescendoed, a voice rang out through the sky. A shout that dwarfed all of the combat and bloodshed, a shout that silenced all of the guttural screams and warcries.

"DUR NEH VIIR!" The shout cried out, followed by the unmistakable roar of a dragon.

Out of the clouds above, the undead dragon Durnehviir, in all of his decaying, oozing glory flew downward, dive bombing right for the gate house. Durnehviir landed amongst the stunned elven defenders, and sprayed frost from his mouth that froze a dozen elves in their place.

Off of Durnehviir's back, two figures dismounted, and immediately the garrison cried out in terror as they immediately recognized who they were. They were the avatars of death made flesh, bane of all living things, the scourge of the Aldmeri Dominion, they were the Dragonborn and the Lady of Vampires, Arlene and Serana.

Arlene, clutching Goldbrand in her right hand and the Blade of Woe in her left, simply raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the defenders, before turning to Serana. "Do it." She ordered.

Immediately Serana put her hands together and began chanting a spell. Arcane power crackled between her fingers as a void opened up between them. Only the oldest of the Altmer could tell what she was doing, channeling the old magicks from before the Oblivion Crisis.

"Stop her!" One particularly brave elf called out, only to be immediately shouted apart by Arlene.

As the defenders tried to comprehend what just happened, Serana finished casting her spell, and behind them, a massive, black conjuration portal opened. But this was not a summoning portal from Oblivion that many mages were used to seeing, instead it was a teleportation portal, linking two points on Nirn together. Out of the magical gate, dozens of figures strode through.

At the helm was Aela the Huntress, Harbinger of the Companions and the dozen members of her Circle. Next was Cicero the Jester, flanked by several Dark Brotherhood assassins. Following the mad clown was Fura Bloodmouth and a dozen clan Volkihar vampires, all hungry for fey blood. And finally were 8 ebony clad vampiric warriors. Arlene's personal Blackguard, her elite fighting unit formed from the Housecarls sworn to protect her, led by none other than Lydia.

The elven defenders lost their chance to retaliate as they were awestruck by the army of monstrosities before them, terror seeping into their very souls. Arlene would not give a second.

"Slaughter them all! Send their souls to the Void!" Arlene cried out as her army attacked.

Durnehviir resumed his assault, his massive jaws biting into Altmer after Altmer, tearing them apart. Meanwhile Serana extended her hands outwards, launching a wave of crackling-orange energy. Serana truly showed her skills as an Arch-Mage as she attacked with her own, custom spell that she created. The base of the spell was an old, pre-Oblivion Crisis branch of Destruction spells known as Disintegration. Despite the intimidating name, the spell was physically relatively harmless, and instead targeted equipment such as weapons and armor, causing them to rust and decay. Serana combined 3 effects, disintegrate armor, disintegrate weapons, and area of effect to create a spell that ruined the arms and armor of many of the elves in front of them.

The elves looked dumbstruck as their weapons and armor became useless in their hands. Aela was the first to move after. With a mighty howl, she and her fellow Companions called upon their inners beasts shifting into their werewolf forms. The elves didn't even have time to turn around and run before the lycanthropes pounced upon them.

Arlene smiled wide as she watched Aela work. When Arlene joined the Companions all those years ago, the beast blood was a point of contention amongst the Circle. Some such as Kodlak, Vilkas, and Farkas, saw it as a curse that plagued their brotherhood. Others, namely Skjor, Aela, and Arlene herself, saw it as a gift. The Companions were the first organization that Arlene joined when she began her adventure in Skyrim. It was one of the few places in Skyrim that she felt truly accepted, and the beast blood they gifted her made her feel more powerful than ever before.

She fought with them for many moons, losing friends along the way, and eventually Arlene was given the title of Harbinger when Kodlak passed and she freed his soul from Hircine. Arlene kept the title until her duties to Clan Volkihar, the Empire, and the Dark Brotherhood kept her so busy she could not properly lead the Companions. So she passed the title onto Aela, and under her leadership the Companions became far more, liberal, with the blood of the beast.

Arlene felt a pang of guilt when she thought back to the hurt and betrayed expression Aela had when the Dragonborn revealed she gave up the gift, sacrificing the blood of the beast for that of the Vampire. Arlene was Aela's main ally in the Companions since Skjor died, and the huntress felt blindsided by her decision. But even so, the two still shared a bond deeper than blood, one forged as shield-sisters during the war against the Silver Hand. A bond that held to this day, given that Aela answered Arlene's call to arms.

While the Companions bore the brunt of the assault, berserking as they charged into the elven lines, Cicero and his Dark Brotherhood assassins flowed between and around the clashing sides, swiftly appearing behind the defenders. Cicero, as expected of Arlene's top assassin, was a tornado of blades and violence, doing both Sithis and the Night Mother proud. With grace only top assassins possessed combined with the unpredictability of insanity, Cicero sent limbs, ears, and a multitude of other body parts into the air. His fellow assassins, hand trained by Nazir within the Dawnstar sanctuary, would not fail to perform when their Listener was right behind them, and sent many elven lives to the Void.

A volley of ranged support came from vampires. Fura Bloodmouth, the tall, nordic barbarian woman of the Volkihar court led the offensive. In order to secure victory, Fura and her warriors immediately shifted into their Vampire Lord forms, draining their opponents life force through fang and magic. Moreso than anything else, Arlene considered her conquest of Clan Volkihar her greatest achievement. While Arlene was a skilled fighter and rogue before joining Clan Volkihar, the vampiric court was where she whet her teeth on intrigue and manipulation. She credited the vampires for turning her into whatever it is she is today.

Finally, the Blackguard formed up around their ladies Arlene and Serana, forming a shieldwall and cutting down anything that got near. The Blackguard was formed under the most interesting of circumstances. Throughout her adventures in Skyrim, Arlene had become famous throughout the eight Holds, gaining the rank of Thane in all of them. With this title came the housecarls, elite warriors sworn to faithfully serve Arlene, being her shield until death, either hers or theirs.

When Arlene ruled clan Volkihar as Lady of Vampires, and set her ambitions outside of Skyrim, she offered all her followers a choice. They could accept the gift of vampirism, and follow her into the shadows, or she would release them from their oaths then and there and allow them to live their lives as they saw fit. It was Lydia, first of the housecarls, who volunteered to join Arlene. She claimed that Arlene had done nothing but good for Skyrim and the Empire, and that it would be an honor to serve her for centuries, rather than decades. Her fellow housecarls followed suit and became the Blackguard, Arlene's elite unit used to protect castle Volkihar and herself from threats within and without. While some of the vampire lords did chafe under the rule of Arlene, none would openly question her thanks to the presence of the Blackguard, as well as the residual fear of her after what she did to Harkon.

Between the four inhuman forces of darkness and an undead dragon, the elves on the gate stood no chance. The fight, if it could be called that, lasted seconds. Arlene's forces blitzkrieged through the defenders, taking the gatehouse with no issue, opening them up before the high elves even realized they had to reinforce it.

As the gates swung open, the 7th Legion blew their horns and advanced. The heavily armored legionnaires charged through the open gates, meeting the elven reinforcements head on. With the attack spearheaded by Arlene's forces of darkness, the defenders were forced back, falling in droves to Imperial steel and bestial claws.

Durnehviir flew overhead, breathing frost onto the elven formations, disrupting them and leaving them wholly unprepared for follow up attacks by the Imperials. It was a slaughter. Arlene's monstrous forces smashed through conventional lines of defense, and the high elves had no answer to them. It did not take long for morale to drop, and for the Elves to start fleeing.

It was a cascading domino effect. When the first high elven soldier dropped his weapon and ran, fear spread to his allies. Soon more and more of the squad turned and ran, until the entire unit was in full retreat. Seeing an entire unit routed would cause the two adjacent units to panic and fall back as well, reverberating this pattern throughout the whole of the army. Thalmor justicars and commanders tried to maintain rank and discipline, but no threats of death or promises of glory could rally the Altmer soldiers.

And the Legion would not allow them to escape unmolested. Isolated units running from the battle were chased down by cavalry and mercilessly run through. The infantry took Alinor block by block, the armies in the East and West forcing the defenders to the center of the city, trapped between the devastating pincer attack. No quarter was given, and any Altmer encountered, surrendering or not, was put to the blade.

And the one leading this advance was none other than Arlene herself. Her Nightingale armor was now drenched red with blood, making it look more like armor dedicated to Sithis than Nocturnal. With a whirlwind sprint shout she would appear in the middle of groups of fleeing altmer. Goldbrand and the Blade of Woe flowed effortlessly, slicing through flesh and bone, leaving dozens dead in seconds. Emboldened by the presence of the Dragonborn, the Imperials surged forward, and it was not long before the legion found itself outside of Alinor's Palace.

Beside Arlene at the head of the army was Serana, similarly drenched with the blood of their enemies. "One more battle, and it's all over." Serana growled out.

Arlene nodded with a grin. "Let us finish this grim tale once and for all."

As the two women stepped forward, they paused after a few seconds when they realized that none of their soldiers were following them. Immediately they turned, weapons and fangs bared as they knew something was amiss. Behind them, all of their allies were frozen in place. Not encased in ice frozen, like the unfortunate remains of the falmer, but as if some had paused time itself.

Both Arlene and Serana only knew of only one group with the capability to do something like this. Suddenly their vision was then filled with light, blinding them. When they finally regained their sight, time was once again flowing, and they saw themselves atop a mountain, surrounded by the ancient ruins of destroyed Crystal Tower. Around them were six altmer, wearing ornate, yellow robes with red and white accents. Both Serana and Arlene were familiar with the clothing, confirming Arlene's suspicions as six monks of the Psijic Order surrounded them. Arlene even recognized two of them, Quaranir and Nerien, who helped Serana and Arlene during the Eye of Magnus incident in the College of Winterhold.

"Quaranir, Nerien, been quite some time." Arlene hissed out. "Never visit, never write, almost feels like you forgot about us. How do you think that makes us girls feel?"

"Believe us Dragonborn, we were hoping to avoid this meeting altogether. But unfortunately, you have forced our hands." Quaranir spoke with a calm, even tone that betrayed his inner fury.

"We forced your hands?" Arlene incredulously spat. "And what, praytell, have we done to warrant this interruption to our night?"

"Dragonborn you have abused your powers for the last time! Your actions have thrown the world into chaos, and we are here to restore order!" Quaranir roared.

Arlene was actually dumbstruck by the accusation, a feeling which quickly gave way to anger.

"Order!? The Thalmor have been running around Tamriel, unchecked, for decades commiting murder and mass genocide and NOW you choose to intervene!?" Arlene was seething with rage while her partner stared in angry disbelief. "Where was your order when the Thalmor sacked Cyrodiil?! Where was your order when Valenwood was purged?! Your hypocrisy is only matched by your arrogance!"

"Do not lecture us on hypocrisy, Dragonborn! You may claim to the masses that you fight for peace, but we know the truth! You feed off this violence and anarchy like a parasite! With your right hand you carry a blade to defend the Empire, but with your left you weave lies and spin webs that bring only destruction! Yes, the Thalmor were a threat to Tamriel that needed to be stopped. Thanks to your efforts, they will be defeated, but you will not be the one to claim victory. Because with the Thalmor finished, we now step in to prevent the next great villain from rising." Quaranir took a stance as arcane fire flashed in his hands. "You."

Fire spewed from Arlene's mouth as she took her own stance, Goldbrand and the Blade of Woe disappearing as she dismissed them and requipped the Ebony Blade. Requipping magic was one of the few pre-Oblivion magics that Arlene knew. It was a branch of conjuration magic that granted the ability to store weapons, armor, and other equipment in a pocket dimension, and change out said equipment in an instant. "You wish to deny me my victory?! Fools! Nivahriin joorre! There is no hope for you to defeat me! Zu'u hin daan!" Arlene's draconic fury exploded as she slipped into the dragon language.

The fight exploded shortly afterwards. "WULD NAH KEST!" Arlene shouted, appearing behind Quaranir in an instant, Ebony Blade aimed to bisect him completely. But the altmer would not be a Psijic Monk if he would be felled so easily by such an attack. In his left hand, Quaranir activated a greater ward, absorbing most of the strike, the Ebony Blade leaving only a shallow cut as he retreated.

Afterwards two massive fireballs exploded as two other Psijic Monks launched their fire-based attacks against the vampiric dragonborn. When the explosion dissipated and smoke cleared, not even ashes of the dragonborn remained. Both monks knew that meant only one thing.

"She is invisible!" The first monk yelled out, the two of them immediately casting a detect dead spell that allowed them to see Arlene's vampiric form even when invisible.

But it was too late. By the time they had finished casting the spell, Arlene was already behind one of the monks, singed and burned, with the Ebony Blade raised high. The monk tried to raise his hand and create a ward but Arlene was too fast. Chopping the blade down, the monk's left arm was separated from his body. The blade drank the blood of the elf, which passed into Arlene, healing her burns.

With a quick twist of her wrists, the nodachi changed angels as Arlene cut diagonally upwards from left to right. The monk's brain didn't even register his death as the top half of his torso slid off the bottom, followed by his body collapsing to the ground.

"Tandil no!" Quaranir called out as he burst into flames, focusing the magic into himself as he prepared one of the strongest fire destruction spells, Fire Storm.

Arlene ran forward to stop him but two other monks intercepted, harrying Arlene with fireballs and lightning bolts. However as Quaranir was casting the spell, he noticed the fire within and around him begin to sputter and die. Then he felt his own magicka levels begin to dip. Turning he saw that Serana was behind him, the Staff of Magnus raised, draining him of his energy.

The Fire Storm spell died in his hands as he lost the magicka to cast it. Following the successful interruption, Serana fired a series of ice spikes aimed at both Quaranir's head and legs. However another monk, Nerien, stopped the frozen attack with his ward. But before Nerien could counter with his own spell, something interrupted him.

"FUS RO DAH!" Arlene shouted from behind blasted both he and Quaranir right for Serana.

Serana, having fought with Arlene for years, was immediately ready to follow up. As Nerien ragdolled through the air, Serana drew her father's sword. As the high elf flew passed her, Serana swiped with the blade, bisecting him mid-flight. The fight had gone on for seconds at most, and the monks were already down two members.

Serana smirked as her father's blade drained the life from Nerien, healing her wounds as well as replenishing her stamina and magicka in the process. That's when two more fireballs flew right for her, as two unnamed Psijic monks began bombarding the area. Raising the Staff of Magnus, Serana absorbed the magic fire mid-flight, nullifying the attack. The two mages grimaced. The Staff of Magnus was an artifact of its namesake, Magnus the god of magic, and was ironically the perfect weapon to kill mages. It's ability to absorb magicka perfectly countered the fighting style of the monks.

The battle lulled for a brief second, allowing both sides to regroup with their respective allies. And just as quickly as the battle paused, it then resumed as Arlene charged forward head first, supported by Serana as she fired repeated chain lightings. Two of the monks stepped forward creating powerful wards to block the lighting and any strikes from the dragonborn, while the monks behind them both began channeling the fire storm spell.

Serana's lightning magic scattered harmlessly against the wards as Arlene continued to dash forward. As she cut the distance and got closer, the two monks focused their magicka and launched their spells right for her. The blazing inferno consumed everything in front of them. Arlene's form completely disappeared, shattering as it was revealed that they hit an illusion rather than the real Arlene. Some time during the separation, she cast Mislead and an illusionary duplicate that took her place, drawing the attention of the monks as she once again went invisible.

By the time the monks realized that they were fooled by the trick, it was too late. A blood-red blade pierced through the back of one of the monks. He cried out as the Ebony Blade drank his life force dry, causing him to shrivel and die. The surviving monks unleashed a torrent of fire towards Arlene, forcing her to retreat.

Understanding that they were hopelessly outclassed in melee, the monks, now down to three, changed strategies. The two remaining unnamed monks summoned powerful Dremora Lords, red and black skinned humanoid Daedra, wearing full suits of Daedric plate and wielding terrifying greatswords coated with hellfire.

Seeing that they were summoned to fight against the famed Dragonborn, the dremora smiled and cried out, "Oblivion take you!" as they charged right for her.

Arlene was immediately put on the defensive. While she was highly skilled with a blade, she preferred to avoid direct confrontation. Using theatrics and distractions while she attacks from behind was her forte, not charging headlong into an enemy. So when the two dremora did just that, not giving her any time or space to cast her spells or break line of sight, she knew she had to retreat.

Smiling at seeing the dreaded Dragonborn forced back, Quaranir took the opportunity to summon a Wall of Fire in the shape of a ring, trapping the Dragonborn and her opponents within, the fire weakening her due to her vampiric state. Meanwhile the remaining two focused on putting down Serana.

They launched their fire spells once more towards the Vampire Princess, looking to overwhelm her defenses. Two Incinerate spells were launched, which threatened to do that very thing to Serana. Thinking quick, the vampiress aimed her hands to the ground and summoned a Wall of Ice. The fire spell slammed against the frost spell, immediately evaporating against each other, creating a mist that consumed the whole area.

Hidden by the mist, Serana drank a magicka potion, and focused the powers of the Soul Cairn into both her hands. Showing off her true might as a necromancer and Arch-Mage, Serana mirrored the actions of the monks by summoning two Mistmen, half-skeletal half-spectral undead that seemed to fade from view within the obscured area.

The two monks, waiting to see where Serana went, fired off Thunderbolt spells at the first sign of movement within the mist. Serana advanced with a greater ward raised, struggling in pain as she tanked the magical spells. Seeing they had the advantage, the two monks advanced, firing destruction spell after destruction spell to break the ward and bring her down.

So focused they were on destroying the vampire, that they didn't notice the moving shadows beneath them. Before they could strike a final blow against the vampire, the shadows leapt out of the ground taking their physical forms and attacking the monks from behind. The monks didn't have time to scream before the undead began tearing into their torsos, digging out entrails and organs, killing them instantly.

Arnele, now sporting several new gashes and cuts, smiled as the two Daedra in front of her disappeared. Taking a deep breath, Arlene channeled her thu'um and shouted, "FO KRAH DIIN!" The frost breath shout passed her lips, putting out part of the Wall of Fire and freeing her.

Quaranir stared wide eyed at his situation. His fellow monks, all dead, and both Arlene and Serana approaching him. He knew that this was a possibility, he dreaded it, but prepared for such an eventuality to happen. Thinking quickly, Quaranir created a powerful magicka barrier around him. A powerful ward that would take even Serana a few minutes to get through.

"You have to appreciate the irony of this situation, Quaranir." Arlene spoke behind a sadistic grin, approaching his barrier, eyeing him like a cat eyeing a mouse. "You are destroyed by the two very mages you helped bring to greatness. After all, without you and your intervention, we would have never gained control of the College."

Quaranir remained silent for a few seconds, stoically staring the Dragonborn down, only to speak as he reached into his own pocket dimension. "It is you who fails to see the irony in this situation."

Pulling his arm out of his pocket dimension, he retrieved an intricate golden cylinder, with two handles on both sides. Both Arlene and Serana's eyes widened in recognition, and for the first time in a long time, fear. Quaranir pulled out an Elder Scroll.

That's when everything clicked for Arlene. Why the Psijic Monks brought them here, to the ruins of the Crystal Tower. The Crystal Tower was one of _the_ Towers, the pillars of civilization that maintained the wheel of the world, separating Mundus from Oblivion. Magic was strong at the Towers, and reality, time, and space could shift and warp at such points. One such tower was the Throat of the World, where the ancient Nords shouted Alduin out of time. And it seemed that Quaranir intended to do the same with them.

"Serana!" Arlene cried to her sister as she raised the Ebony Blade, striking at the barrier. Serana immediately raised the Staff of Magnus and began draining the ward.

But they were too slow as Quaranir began his arcane chanting. "Syrabane! Ancestor-God, grant me your divine blessing and make this contract heard! Begone, daughters of Volkihar! By words with older bones than your own I break your web around this world, and send you out! You are banished! Arlene, Serana, I cast you out from our world, and all of Mundus!"

"RAAGGH!" Arlene cried out as she continually hammered away at Quaranir's barrier. Her eyes shifted to draconic slits, fire flowed from her mouth, and she continued her relentless assault as she and Serana were encompassed by the magic of the Elder Scroll. "Damn you monk! I will return, you hear me! And when I do, I will burn your pathetic island! You and your order will all die!" Arlene roared as she spoke her last words on the face of Tamriel.

* * *

Arnele's eyes strained, flickering awake as she felt cool grass beneath her and heard the rustling of leaves above her. Realizing she was still alive, Arlene shot up and immediately scanned her surroundings.

It was night, she was within some kind of dense, green forest. Stirring awake beside her was her vampire sister Serana, similarly worse for wear, but alive. Grabbing Serana by the crook of her arm she lifted her up, scanning her for any major injuries while keeping one eye on the treeline. As the clouds above them parted, pale moonlight illuminated the area. The two looked up and felt their eyes go wide with shock, as instead of the celestial bodies of Masser and Secunda, they saw a single, broken moon…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came to me after reading a few other RWBY+Elder Scrolls fics, as well as a few Elder Scrolls Xovers with other media such as Eragon and Familiar of Zero. The reason I started writing this was that I felt in a lot of those fics, the Dragonborn tends to end up pretty similar. A male, Nordic, good aligned, warrior-mage-rogue Dragonborn that deals with all his problems by charging straight in and hitting it with a hammer. While a lot of these stories are great and fun reads, binge reading a lot of them just made the character archetype pretty stale for me personally. So I wanted to go in a pretty different direction with this Dragonborn.
> 
> Arlene Volkihar is a wood elf, vampiric Dragonborn that tends to follow a more evil aligned path. She is manipulative, seductive, and ambitious, and seeks to gain victory through cloak and dagger rather than iron and blood. She has made some morally questionable decisions in her years of conquest during and after Elder Scrolls Skyrim, many of which were summarized above. Hopefully she will make for an entertaining character to follow!
> 
> In addition. There are a few things that I am changing in Skryim's canon for this story. Primarily this will be with the geography of Skyrim itself, and with a lot of the magic.
> 
> Changes to canon, Geography and Population: Because of game limitations and streamlining, several parts of what occured in Skyrim are changed in order to be a better representation of the universe. First, the size of Skyrim in the game is 39 km^2. While this is big enough for a single player game, this is nowhere near the size needed to represent a real country. The general rule of thumb I am using is to multiply the geographic size of Skyrim by 1000. The size of Skyrim increases from 39km^2 to 39,000km^2. It no longer takes hours to ride between holds in game, but days if not weeks. This puts Skyrim on the size of smaller real world countries like Taiwan and Switzerland.
> 
> Cities such as Whiterun, Solitude, and Windhelm all retain their basic layout, but the size, population, and amount of buildings are multiplied by a factor of 100, bringing the population of a city like Whiterun from appx. 100 people in and around the city and nearby farms in game to appx. 10,000, much more realistic for a medieval/fantasy city. For example London is believed to have had a population of about 10,000-12,000 around the year 800 (Wikipedia is my source for that). While Whiterun is not a coastal city like London and is in a colder climate, it is still an important trade center, and magic would increase the levels of medical care in the city, allowing for larger populations.
> 
> Elite factions and organizations such as the College of Winterhold and the Companions are multiplied in membership by 50, increasing from about 10 members in game to about 500 members. Much larger than in game, but in the new scale of Skyrim, still small and elite. And during the Civil War, instead of battles being waged with a dozen men storming fort, it would be with hundreds if not thousands with siege equipment and supply lines. Legates were high ranking commanders that controlled Legions of 1500 men each, meaning General Tullius controlled several thousand Legionnaires during the war, as there was at least 1 legate per hold in Skyrim.
> 
> Magic: In addition, magic is being greatly expanded on. Magic was streamlined in Skyrim to make the game more accessible and because of the removal of previous mechanics such as attributes and equipment durability. All of these removed spells from Oblivion and Morrowind will be categorized as "Pre-Oblivion Crisis" spells, when magic was more prominent. The explanation is that the Oblivion Crisis, the dissolution of the Mages Guild, the rise of the Thalmor, and the Great Collapse of Winterhold eroded much trust towards mages. Study in magic dropped immensely, and many extremely dangerous spells and incantation were purged by groups like the Vigilants of Stendarr. The result was a massive loss of magical knowledge and general drop in quality of mages in Tamriel. There will also be other spells added in, influenced by spells from games such as Dungeons and Dragons, with spells such as Mislead, meanwhile requip is magic from Fairy Tail to give an in universe explanation for the Dragonborn's inventory system.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beacon Academy…**

" _GASP!"_

Professor Ozpin woke with a start, pupils dilated and heart racing. Immediately he shot out of his bed and rushed for the window of his clocktower bedroom. He felt something. Something he hadn't felt in _centuries_. Magic. True, ancient, and powerful magic. Not like the withered shell of sorcery he retained, dwindled to near nothingness following his constant reincarnations and gifting of powers.

This was something he hadn't felt since his _first_ life, as Ozma the Hero. _What is this power? Have the Two Brothers returned?_ He thought to himself as a plethora of questions filled his mind. Why would they have returned? The four relics were still in their vaults, unless Atlas has fallen out of the sky and he hasn't been alerted yet. Could it be the maidens? They have long since lost track of Spring, and half of Fall is still in whomever ambushed Amber. But unless the Maidens were blasting their powers at full force, he wouldn't be able to sense them.

Extending his meager magic might out, he sensed the disturbance came from the Emerald Forest before dissipating. A little too close for comfort. The short lived burst suggested it was some kind of magical event or explosion, but he had no idea what the specifics were. Pulling out his scroll he immediately went to his emergency contacts and called Glynda.

The scroll ringed for several uncomfortable seconds until a tired Glynda Goodwitch answered the phone. " * _Yawn_ * Hm-what? Professor Ozpin?" It was not often that Ozpin saw Glynda without her glasses and her hair down. The woman often sought to maintain the pinnacle of professionalism, but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 2am so it was to be expected that she was asleep. "What's going on? Why are you calling so late?"

"Glynda there is a situation. I need you to gather Bart and Peter and meet me in my office as soon as possible, ready for combat." Ozpin immediately commanded, already moving to get himself prepared.

Glynda's eyes widened at how out of the blue this was, but she knew better than to ask questions in the face of an emergency. Steeling herself, Glynda's face adopted her professional facade and nodded. "Understood Professor. We will be there as soon as possible."

The Headmaster hung up the scroll, not wanting to waste time with goodbyes or other pleasantries. Retrieving _The Long Memory_ , his personal cane and current magic staff, Ozpin let out a silent prayer that tonight wasn't going to be the end of the world.

* * *

"RAAAGH!" Arlene howled out as the Ebony Blade bisected an entire tree. "Damn them! Damn those Psijics and all their kin! I swear to all the Princes, I will sink their entire damned island, even if I have to destroy the whole world to do so!" Arlene swung wildly again, tearing another tree asunder as fire continued to spray from her mouth.

Arlene was seething. Never before had she experienced such a monumental failure. She had victory, true victory, within the palm of her hands, only for Quaranir and his fellow monks to steal it away from her. Not satisfied with felling those few trees, her blade moved to hack down another evergreen before her sister's voice cut through the air.

"Arlene!" Serana hissed out, loud enough to get the Dragonborn's attention, but still carrying the barest restraint of volume as not to further alert the surrounding wilds of their presence. "You will calm down, or I swear I will make you calm."

Aqua-green magic crackled in her hands, the tell tale sign of a calming illusion spell. This was not a threat, but a promise. Serana had traveled with Arlene for more than enough time to know that letting her run wild was a mistake. They were in an unknown land, with unknown threats, and unknown inhabitants. Letting Arlene turn into a force of destruction would not help their situation at all, and this would not have been the first time the vampire had to stop the worst parts of her counterpart's nature.

Glaring at her sister in all but birth for several seconds, Arlene finally relented, accepting Serana's words. Taking a deep breath in, Arlene began to perform the meditative techniques the Grey Beards taught her. While she hated the mute monks and their Way of the Voice, their lessons were still useful for reigning in her impulsive, draconic side. Holding the air in her lungs for a few seconds, then releasing it with a slow exhale, Arlene felt her pulse slow, and her pupils shifted back to their normal, orange shape.

Content that her partner was in control of her emotions, Serana let the magic fade from her fingers. "Now then, I suggest we take a look at our surroundings and figure out where we are before any talk of vengeance and destruction." Serana chided.

Arlene sent a weak scowl at Serana, before nodding her head. They were obviously in some kind of heavily forested area. Surrounded by large deciduous and conifer trees, some easily hundreds of feet tall, Arlene could tell that they were in some kind of temperate climate, similar to Cyrodiil or High Rock. If this land followed the same seasons that Tamriel did, it would probably be near the tail end of summer as the temperature was not too hot, but the leaves retained a vibrant emerald green color.

Looking up once more at the single, broken moon above them, Arlene could only give a resigned sigh. "Well I think it's rather obvious we're not in Nirn anymore." She moved to once again examine the local flora. "Do you think we may be in some plane of Oblivion?"

Serana shook her head. "No, I doubt it. This place is just too… normal. Planes of Oblivion shift and twist to match their master's will and desires. But there's no rivers of magma, no floating rocks and celestial portals, no towering spires of books that lead to infinite knowledge. It's all just… normal."

It was then that several howls pierced the night sky, the unmistakable call of a wolf.

Head snapping towards the source of the noise, Arlene requipped the Nightingale Bow, knocking an arrow as she said to her partner, "Perhaps we have stumbled into Hircine's Hunting Ground?"

As if the world itself chose to answer her question, burning crimson eyes appeared all around the two vampires, and out of the darkness four werewolves leapt at them. Arlene was about to loose her arrow as the lycanthropes lunged, but hesitated for a split second as she saw what they looked like. Arlene was intimately familiar with Lycanthrope physiology, having been one for several months, and on more than one occasion sleeping with a particular redheaded huntress. These werewolves had fur that was pitch black, almost like tar, and were armored with bony spines and plates that covered their arms, legs, and head. Arlene had never before seen such mutant children of Hircine.

The hesitation quickly fled as the bone-werewolf pounced right for Arlene. With a release of her fingers, Arlene loosed an ebony arrow that flew right for the creature. The blackened arrow bored through the bone skullcap of the werewolf, piercing right through and into the creature's brain. The werewolf then immediately fell to the ground dead, body starting to dissolve. Arlene then looked down on the creature in surprise once more, though this time it was a more ambivalent, disappointed surprise. Was that really all it took to kill it? As the corpse then vanished into smoke and dust, Arlene realized that these were no true werewolves, only poor parodies of Skyrim's greatest hunters.

Wishing to be done with these beasts, Arlene loosed two more arrows in quick succession. The first arrow lodged itself into the knee of the nearest faux-werewolf, crippling it and stopping its charge. The second flew right into its throat, tearing its way through the creature's spine and exiting by the nape of its neck. With a wet gurgle the werewolf dissolved into the darkness.

The remaining two wolves charged for Serana, youth overtaking caution as they hungered for the taste of flesh. Serana didn't even give a second glance as she fired a chain lightning for the beowolves. The smell of ozone filled the air before it was replaced with the scent of burning fur and flesh as the electricity tore through the two creatures, exploding them from within.

With the faux-werewolves disposed of Arlene moved to examine the vanishing bodies. "Hmm. Not even a challenge. They're an insult to the form they steal from." the dragonborn spat out.

"I wonder what they are." Serana mused as she kneeled down and examined the black particles floating away. "It's almost like they're some kind of bastardization of werewolves and death hounds. The disintegration easily marks them off being anything natural. Daedra perhaps?"

"Whatever they are, this forest seems choked full of them." Arlene grunted as she helped her sister up. "Come on, we should keep moving. Look for some kind of civilization."

* * *

**Beacon Academy…**

It took only 15 minutes for the Professors Goodwitch, Port, and Oobleck to make their way into Ozpin's office, fully armed and dressed for battle. Glynda's eyes had slight bags under them, and she lacked any of the makeup she would normally wear, but such frivolities were not needed in the event of an emergency. Dr. Oobleck was disheveled as ever, already sipping fresh coffee from his thermos, while Port looked ready to fall asleep standing.

"Professor Ozpin." Glynda spoke up first, approaching the Headmaster who was standing by his window overlooking the Emerald Forest. "What's the situation, sir?"

Professor Ozpin did not immediately respond, taking a slow sip from his coffee first, mulling over what he was going to say.

"There's been a security breach within the Emerald Forest." He began. "I've detected a burst of energy that implies intruders may have passed our security perimeter."

Glynda immediately scowled. Not many people would be willing to test Beacon's security. The Emerald Forest and Forever Fall Forest actually formed a sort of natural barrier of grimm that would keep most large scale bandit or criminal organizations away, in addition to providing hunting grounds for their students to learn. While the institute itself housed some of the most powerful huntsmen in all of Vale. The only ones who would actually be so brazen and attack would be those that work for _her._

"Hmm, most disturbing news." Dr. Oobleck mused. "And so close to the start of the newest school year. Sabotage perhaps?"

"Oh ho, well they must be rather poor saboteurs if they were detected already." Port added on.

"Do you want us to go investigate and confront these trespassers, Professor?" Glynda asked, cutting off their inferring.

Ozpin slowly put his mug on his desk and shook his head. "No Glynda, we all shall go greet our newest guests. Should the worst arise, I want to be there myself to deal with it, rather than remain in the tower." Ozpin's normally calm, but gentle demeanor was replaced by a stoic face ready for battle.

Glynda had never seen Professor Ozpin so serious. "Is this threat that serious?" She asked in an almost hushed, disbelieving tone.

"Potentially." The headmaster succinctly replied, already making his way to the elevator, his teachers falling in line behind him. "Brothers willing, we shall see tonight through."

* * *

Arlene crouched low on a thick tree branch. Many of the trees in this forest were old, with heavy branches that could easily support her weight and thick foliage that hid her from sight. If there was anything she missed about Valenwood, it was dense treelines such as this. There was something about wild nature that set her bosmer heart at peace, a sense of comfort that humans would find in their settlements and cities.

Not to mention that dense forests were a guerilla fighter's wet dream. There were so many places to set pitfall traps, snares, and ambush points. While many of the other races of Tamriel often mocked the Bosmer for their size and preference for stealth, there is a reason that attempting to annex Valenwood had been a significant hurdle for many would be conquerors. While Valenwood often lacked a large scale, professional military of their Imperial neighbors, the scores of master hunters, archers, and woodsmen could wipe out half a legion before a single open battle could occur. Every invader thought they had the biggest stick until the trees started speaking Bosmeri.

Regardless, Arlene continued her vigil as needed while Serana hid on ground level. They had been walking around for the passed 20 minutes, and as they haven't seen any signs of civilization yet, Serana decided to take a break and do a bit of experimentation.

Patiently waiting, Arlene eventually found her target. Unlike the previous shadow animals, which were werewolf in shape, this shadow was bear-like in shape and size, similarly covered in bony protrusions and armor. Reaching into one of her pockets, Arlene pulled out a pebble she had picked up on the ground and chucked it at the bear. As expected, the rock bounced off the bear's armored head, causing it to roar and look for the offender. With that, Arlene dropped from the tree, making as much noise as she possibly could, getting the attention of the bear.

The shadowbear saw her and gave chase. Arlene knew that bears were often much faster than most people though. Her encounters with the various ursine predators of Skyrim taught her much in that regard. Without a second pause, Arlene raised her hands and aqua-green magic formed between them. As the bear lunged at her, she extended her hands, casting the Harmony spell. The Harmony spell was one of the few Master level magics that Arlene knew. It would calm down any creature and human within a massive range, and she also knew a few tricks taught to her by the College to make such illusions work on Daedra, the undead, and automatons as well. Arlene and Serana were pretty sure the shadow creatures would fall to spell. If not, they could always kill it.

The spell exploded and the aqua colored magic enveloped the shadowbear. The bear slowed its charging pace, until it eventually stopped in front of Arlene, tongue lolling out and panting like some kind of large dog.

"Hm." Arlene mused, petting the shadowbear on the head. "Hey Serana, it worked!" she called out as the vampire princess reappeared from her hiding spot, waiting in ambush just in case something went awry.

Serana walked up and began to examine the creature. "You know, the fact that your charm worked doesn't really specify what this creature is, since you can pretty much charm anything."

Arlene shrugged. "Well it's at least good to know illusion spells work on them. Can get through this forest without having to carve a path of black sludge."

"Right." Serana simply responded before heading to the rear of the animal. "Strange. Doesn't have any genitalia, male or female. Reinforces my idea that these creatures are made magically rather than naturally."

"Means it's mostly likely a daedra then." Arlene noted.

All Daedra were technically genderless. While many of them had masculine or feminine features, or chose to fully manifest as male or female, Daedra were immortal beings formed within Oblivion and could take whatever form they chose. When killed, their souls would be sent to the Void like all others, only to eventually return to their realms of Oblivion to be reincarnated. As such, Daedra don't need to breed like mortal races do. If a Prince needed more followers, they would simply create more.

"I agree. But I wonder what Prince would've had a hand in the creation of such-" Serana's hypothesizing was cut off as she and Arlene both snapped their heads to the East. "You hear them as well. Four figures, humans, judging by the sound of their foot falls. Do you think they were attracted by the bear?" Vampires, as is required by super predators, had extremely powerful hearing in addition to their other enhanced senses.

Arlene requipped Goldbrand by her side should the need for battle arise and nodded. "Most likely, it was pretty loud. Judging by their speed they're attempting to be stealthy. What do you think, diplomacy or violence?"

"Pretty early to contemplate killing them, don't you think?" Serana raised an eyebrow. "Obviously locals. Perhaps hunters chasing this creature."

"Or soldiers who detected our arrival." Arlene warned back.

"Either way, we won't know until we talk to them. I vote talk."

Arlene thought about their options for a brief moment, before agreeing with Serana. "We don't know where we are, so at the very least having a guide will be useful."

"Worst case we just kill them and be on our way." Serana shrugged.

And so, the two women waited for the approaching group as they slowly made their way through the foliage. Arlene didn't know what to expect while waiting for these unknowns to show up. And she very much so didn't expect the first person she saw to be a rather fat, stout man, with short cut white hair and a thick mustache, wearing a kilt and some kind of blazer, and wielding a double headed axe that had some kind of pipe on its butt. Following him was a lanky fellow, with frazzled green hair, spectacles, and some kind of button up tunic hastily put on, wielding some kind of collapsable club. Arlene couldn't but feel some of the tension in her body deflate when she saw these two.

"My my! Well hello there!" The portly man bellowed out. "You two wouldn't happen to be the intruders we've been look- Oh my goodness! Look at that Bart! They've tamed an Ursa!" The man then ran up to the shadowbear, seemingly losing interest in the two vampires, who looked at each other in confusion. "Remarkable! How did you get it to be so docile? Drugs? A semblance? Please you must show me! Being able to so easily capture a live specimen would no doubt make my classes far easier to teach!"

Arlene's brain had frozen as she literally had no idea how to respond to his strange man.

"Peter please!" The green haired man named Bart called out before turning to the two women. "We must do introductions first, before research into scientific endeavors! Greetings! I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, of Beacon Academy! That excitable fellow over there is my colleague, Professor Peter Port! And who might you two ladies be, and what are you doing here?" The man spoke at a rapid pace, which would have thrown the two Volkihar daughters off if they didn't have enhanced senses.

Arlene shook her head, regaining control over her wits before responding. "I'm Arlene. This is Serana, and we're a little bit lost. I don't suppose you know where we are?" Arlene answered.

"Well that won't do." a new voice spoke out, male, calm and collected.

Trailing behind Port and Oobleck were two new figures, one an older man with silver hair, a cane, and a green themed attire, and the other a rather attractive blond woman with a white blouse, black pencil skirt, and a purple cape. In her hands was some kind of wand, which set Arlene on edge. She surmised she was probably some sort of mage.

"I am Professor Ozpin. Headmaster of Beacon Academy." The white haired man introduced himself, before turning to his companion. "This is Professor Glynda Goodwitch, my assistant and combat instructor. As for where we are, we are currently in the Emerald Forest, outside of my academy. Now, if you don't mind answering Peter's question, I am rather curious as to how you tamed that grimm as well."

Arlene frowned, annoyed that her question wasn't fully answered. "I did not mean the name of this forest, mayfly. I was asking for the name of this realm. As for the grimm, as you call it, it was a simple charm spell, nothing impressive."

That was a lie. They didn't need to know that Arlene could cast Master level magic. They were unknowns, the less they knew about them the better. However, those words alone seemed to send the faces of the ones called Ozpin and Goodwitch into shock, while Port and Oobleck were confused.

Ozpin was the first to snap himself out of the stupor. "Apologies. If by realm you mean kingdom, then we are in the kingdom of Vale. If you mean world, then we are in the world of Remnant." Ozpin answered completely seriously. "Now, by spell, do you mean a kind of semblance, or do you mean true magic?"

Arlene bit back a snarl. Two sentences in and she made a mistake already. They seemed shocked by her declaration that she used magic. Which meant that magic was either rare or didn't exist here. That would've been a terrifyingly powerful card she could've kept close to her chest that they now knew about. And she had no idea what a semblance was to try and play it off as one. A lie was always stronger the closer to the truth it was. And trying to lie about something she had no information on was inviting failure.

Serana seemed to realize this as well, as the two vampires shared a glance. It was brief, but it conveyed an important message, what do we do? Serana decided to shrug, deferring to Arlene's leadership. And despite being a champion for the Daedric Prince of deception, Arlene decided to do something she hadn't done in a long time, tell the truth.

"Aye, the name of the world is what I was referring to, though I've never heard of a realm called Remnant before." Arlene crossed her arms and sighed. "And by magic I did mean magic. I have no clue as to what a semblance is. My companion and I hail from the continent of Tamriel, on the world of Nirn. We were caught in a trap by our enemies, and were cast here by a powerful spell. Been wandering this Emerald Forest of yours ever since."

"Amazing!" the one called Oobleck practically screamed. "Interdimensional travellers!? Please, you must tell me about your world! What is this Tamriel like? Do they all dress like you? What is your structure of government? What is the favored cuisine?"

Before the doctor could continue to bombard them with questions, Ozpin seemed keen to cut him off. "What Bart is trying to say, is that it's unfortunate such a thing has happened to you, and that won't do. If you wish, I would be more than willing to call in a bullhead and take you to my academy, where we can discuss your story at length in safety."

A free trip back to the nearest settlement, and an easy way to get some basic information on this planet. The latter was far more important right now. She and Serana could easily sneak or kill their way out of this forest, but knowledge on their new location was paramount. After all, knowledge was power, and she was uncomfortably ignorant right now.

"Alright, Professor. I agree." Arlene simply responded.

"Before I do call for our ride, I don't suppose you could reveal your face and tell us your full names." Ozpin asked as he pulled out some strange glowing device from his pocket.

Arlene had actually forgotten she was still wearing the Nightingale hood, it was almost a second skin for her. Pulling off the cowl and hood, she revealed her face. Piercing orange eyes that glowed in the dark, soft, tan skin decorated with tribal elven face paint in the shape of branches and horns, and two long, pointed ears betraying her elven descent. Luckily none of the humans there seemed to be taken aback by her appearance, which gave Arlene hope that there may be elves of some sort on this land.

"My name is Arlene Volkihar, and this is Serana Volkihar. Adventurers by profession." Arlene gave a slight bow of her head. Of course, the two of them hadn't really been adventurers since they left Skyrim a little less than a decade ago, but that wasn't something they needed to know.

* * *

Out of everything Arlene had seen tonight, the bullhead was by far the most impressive thing she had seen. Not only was it a technological marvel that rivaled that of the dwarves, but hundreds of applications for its usage were running through her mind as they rode over the forest. They were like steel dragons. Arlene had long since discovered the uses of riding dragons for bypassing enemy defenses, and well as calling upon them to rain devastation from above. Bullheads like these would make castle walls all but obsolete. No point in spending gold and years of time on something you could just fly over. Add in skilled mages or siege engines on one and you had mobile artillery.

When the group arrived at Beacon Academy, the area was more familiar to vampires. The academy was made up of many tall sharp towers with pointed arches and flying buttresses. In fact the architecture did seem to be reminiscent of High Imperial architecture from the reign of Tiber Septim. For now she put it off as just a cosmic coincidence. The main tower itself, which had an impressive series of open arches that revealed several floating, green orbs, contained Ozpin's office, as well as the lighthouse-esque beacon for which the school was most likely named. Arlene wasn't too impressed by the tower, having found the White-Gold Tower of the Imperial City far more impressive.

Now that they were deemed not a threat, Port and Oobleck were told to return to their rooms, the latter far more reluctantly as good doctor all but demanded to stay in order to learn of Arlene and Serana's world. After a quick elevator ride up to Ozpin's office, another invention of the dwarves these people were able to replicate, they two vampires found themselves sitting across Ozpin, with Glynda standing beside the headmaster. Glynda, still suspicious of the two women, was still on guard, while Arlene allowed herself to casually relax in her chair and Serana maintained a polite, upright posture.

Ozpin began first. "Now that we are in a far more comfortable environment, I don't suppose we could start with a demonstration of your magic abilities. You claim to be able to use magic, but in this land, magic is only a myth and fairy tale."

While circumstantial evidence supported Arlene and Serana's story, he needed proof to see if they were the ones the burst of magic summoned, as he could not sense magic if they were not actively using a large amount of it.

This immediately caused Serana's brows to slightly furrow, as she subtly cast Detect Magic. Such a spell was normally useful for identifying magical traps or items, and Serana immediately detected two magical sources, one from Ozpin and the other from something beneath the tower.

"Strange you say that magic doesn't exist when you yourself are a wizard." Serana jabbed at Ozpin as her eyes narrowed on him.

Ozpin did not seem to be taken aback by the accusation while his assistant was more obviously shocked that Serana knew this information.

Arlene couldn't help but smirk as she sat back, crossed her legs, and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Ozpin. Just starting this conversation and lying already." Arlene gently chided. Arlene then held her palm open, facing the ceiling, as an orb of fire appeared in it, which then shifted to a floating sphere of ice, then a crackling ball of electricity. A simple demonstration that even a novice of destruction magic could do. "Both Serana and I are mages, with Serana being the more powerful between us."

That was a little more than she would normally reveal, but being aggressive with the truth after catching your opponent in a lie would usually make them feel guilty about it. She at least kept the important parts hidden such as the fact that Serana was a master of all of the known, and a few forgotten schools of magic, while Arlene was a master of illusion and conjuration.

"Being mages, we are also able to sense magic as well, and I can feel it coming off of you, and whatever it is you have beneath the tower." Serana added on as well.

If Ozpin wasn't shocked before he was now, surprise now clearly etched on his face. Arlene made sure her smirk didn't widen any further as Ozpin had to take a moment to collect himself.

Meanwhile, Ozpin took a sip from his coffee, despite it having been on his desk since he woke up and had cooled off, hoping it hid the flash of fear he felt when they mentioned Amber. Arlene's and Serana's statements confirmed that they were the source of magic he sensed in the forest. Or that the source of magic he sensed deposited them in the forest.

And there was no way that anyone outside of his inner circle would know about Amber beneath the school, while the skills that Arlene showed off obviously appeared similar to those of a maiden. For the first time in a long time, Ozpin didn't know what to make of the two people in front of him.

But they had power, and at the very least didn't seem loyal to Salem. They were too ignorant of the world, too willing to cooperate with him, and lacked the selfish cruelty and malice her pawns normally emitted. No, they were something new, something which could end the stalemate he and Salem had going on. He needed to get them on his side.

"My apologies, it was not my intention to try and deceive you." Ozpin began. "You see, magic is a very rare thing in Remnant. Only myself, the one below, and a handful of others in the world have the ability to use it. This however, makes us targets, and of course discretion is the better part of valor."

Ozpin took another sip of his room temperature coffee to give Arlene and Serana time to digest what he had just said before continuing. "And unfortunately, this would make you two targets as well." Ozpin kept a neutral face as he saw Arlen frown but a fraction. "But, I would be more than happy to give you a place to stay at Beacon, to get your bearings and learn of this world of ours, as well as to stay hidden from any untoward threats."

Arlene and Serana didn't seem to have much of an outward reaction to his offer, but Glynda on the other hand seemed flabbergasted. "Ozpin! Are you sure?" She openly questioned. "We have no idea who these women are! No offense of course." Glynda hastily added on as she turned to the two vampires.

"None taken." Arlene simply shrugged, as they truly had no idea who they were.

"That may be true Glynda, but they are strangers lost in a land they know nothing of that could very easily seek to destroy them." Ozpin chastised his subordinate before addressing his guests once more. "I can provide shelter, food, and money, since I assume you don't have the local currency, as well as access to our library and staff of professors to learn all you wish of Remnant."

Arlene returned a well practiced smile that she often used with politicians and nobles. "A rather generous offer. But what do you want in return? No one in any world is so charitable, professor. But, luckily for you, I have been a sellsword in the past, and I would be willing to do so again." Killing things in exchange for food, money, and shelter was the bread and butter of adventuring life after all.

"Hm, I was going to wait to offer you this, but I suppose now would be as good a time as any. Fortunately, I don't need you to be a mercenary. I have a much safer vocation in mind. How would you like to teach at Beacon, perhaps teaching magic to my students?" Now Ozpin did not trust Serana and Arlene in the slightest, and he knew that they didn't trust him. But they could be a powerful weapon against Salem. And their mastery of magic in addition to his own waning powers made him more than a little bit desperate to secure their aid.

_Ahh yes of course that's what he wants._ Arlene cackled internally. _So you want our magic power. Well, hate to break it to you Ozzy, but you'd need to offer a lot more than a roof and warm meal if you want that._

"Teaching?" Arlene gave an artificially surprised reaction, before shifting into a practice frown. Every false emotion on her looked genuine. "Hm, I suppose I could, but I will not teach magic to anyone here. Such a thing would throw your world into chaos. If you truly are a wizard, then you understand that if given away irresponsibly, magic can result in the death of millions or even the destruction of the whole world. But, I get the sense that you know this already, which is why you and the other mages are hiding."

Ozpin's lips tightened as he said nothing. He knew that lesson better than anyone alive.

"But..." Arlene continued. "I would be willing to teach something less… volatile. I'm a better scout and ranger, so how about I teach that?"

Ozpin let a small sigh escape his lips. It's not what he wanted, but he would have to make concessions. At the very least, Arlene seemed open to working with him. This would be enough. He could start their relationship here, overtime build trust, and in the future convince them to share their secrets.

"That is agreeable. I can make you the newest professor for pathfinding and wilderness survival. What about you, Miss Serana?"

Serana immediately put up her hand and shook her head. "No thanks. I was a teacher once already, not exactly interested in doing it again."

Serana often thought that being the headmaster of the College of Winterhold was far more trouble than it was worth. For all of the intelligence that mages were supposed to have, many novices and neophytes had more confidence than common sense, and making sure the school didn't blow up was surprisingly difficult.

Ozpin gave a small smile that hid his disappointment. "Fair enough. Now then, to the next order of business. Tell me do either of you two have your auras unlocked. Or for that matter, know what an aura is?" He knew they probably didn't have an aura, so this would be a gift to indebt them to him, and help grow their trust in him.

Arlene internally scowled at once more being blindsided by a topic she knew nothing of, but externally kept her smile. "No, could you please enlighten us."

"Aura, my dears, is an ability that everyone has. By unlocking it, it creates a physical manifestation of your soul that imparts a variety of benefits. When trained, Aura can provide a defensive shield to protect you from harm, it can increase your physical strength and agility, and even accelerate the healing of minor wounds or allow you to detect the aura of others." Ozpin taught. "As a gift, I would be more than happy to unlock your auras for you. Call it a sign of good faith."

It was Arlene and Serana's turn to raise their brows in surprise. That… that was a powerful thing.

"In addition…" Glynda added on. "Unlocking your aura would set you on the path to discovering a Semblance, essentially an ability that is unique to you." To demonstrate this Glynda used her telekinesis to lift Ozpin's coffee mug.

"And everyone in this world has it?" Serana asked, the archmage inside of her already trying to understand the magical theory behind such a thing.

Ozpin responded this time. "Those who wish to train to become huntsmen and huntress, like those who study at this academy, as do soldiers and policemen, and more undesirable parts of the world's underbelly. Typically civilians do not unlock their aura, as the power comes with a certain set of responsibilities and expectations."

Made sense to Arlene. Didn't want to have normal civilians running around with enhanced strength and magic powers.

"That is truly interesting." Serana mused. "A completely undiscovered branch of magic in this world. Or perhaps it would fall underneath conjuration or mysticism." the archmage wondered aloud.

"Maybe it could be mysticism, since pretty much anything that's uncategorized goes in there." Arlene added onto her musings. "But this Aura seems to have a it's own set of rules and limitations. It should be made its own branch of magic, Soul Magic or something." she shrugged. Magical theory and organization was not her favorite class.

"I'm sorry, but auras and semblances aren't magic." Glynda cut in.

Serana only scoffed and looked at the professor as if she were an idiot. "Anything that has to do with manipulating the soul should be considered magic. Regardless, we can save this debate for later. Arlene, would you like to accept the headmasters offer and get your aura unlocked?"

Arlene turned to her sister and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you volunteering me for this?"

Serana shrugged and smiled. "Come now, you're used to being a guinea pig, aren't you? Besides better you than me. If it goes wrong, I have a better chance of saving you."

Arlene frowned as she had told Serana never to speak about Brelyna's experiments on her. Sighing, she stood up. "Alright Ozpin, I'll do it. Hit me with whatever it is you need to hit me with."

Standing up, Ozpin put one hand on Arlene's shoulder. He began to glow a bright, emerald green as he spoke, "It is in sacrifice, that we achieve unity. Through this we become the protectors of all, guardians of yore and shackled to fate. I release your soul, and by my shoulder burden thee." As Ozpin finished his incantation, Arlene's own body began to glow a bright ruby red, signifying it worked.

Arlene looked in the aura around her with constrained awe. She knew it worked because she felt lighter, the fatigue from the fight she was in in her last world almost immediately faded. The color around her, the deep ruby red, reminded her much of the color of the amulet of kings once worn by the dragonborn emperors.

"You know, your incantation doesn't really put my mind at ease." Arlene said as she finished examining her body.

Ozpin shook his head. "There is no need to worry. Incantations to unlock aura are merely reflections of the soul of the person doing the unlocking."

"Hmm." Arlene gave a noncommittal grunt, but then committed Ozpin's mantra to memory. Who knows when that information would become useful. "So what do you think, Serana? I'm not blowing up or anything. Though I can't seem to get that soul armor you mentioned up."

"Maintaining your aura as a shield does require some training." Glynda answered. "Something which we will rectify before the start of the school year." Like any loyal 2nd in command, Glynda seemed to have dropped the resistance to allowing Arlene and Serana to stay, and instead had focused her mind on enforcing Ozpin's decision.

Serana, seemingly content that the unlocking of Arlene's aura wasn't some kind of off brand soul trapping or mystical trap, allowed her own aura to be unlocked as well, her color being a fiery orange that matched her eyes.

"Now with that all settled, why don't we all retire for the night. It is, after all, rather late. We can continue our talks about the histories of our worlds in the morning. I'm sure Bart would throw a revolt if he weren't here for that talk. Will you two require separate rooms?" Ozpin asked with a smile that things seemed to be falling into place.

"A shared room will be fine, thank you." Arlene gave a polite response.

"Very well then. Glynda, if you would please escort these two ladies to one of the empty staff rooms?"

"Of course, Professor Ozpin." Glynda gave a curt nod, before turning to the two vampires. "Now, if you will please follow me."

As his guests left, Ozpin couldn't help but smile at his fortune. Two magic users. The Maidens alone controlled a significant portion of the balance of power between him and Salem. With these two on his side, he may finally be able to over power his former wife. Despite everything, Ozpin allowed himself a small flame of hope that long since been extinguished. He needed to have them on his side, whatever the cost.

* * *

The walk to the staff dorms was relatively quick, and Arlene and Serana's room was opened up by Professor Goodwitch's glowing device she called a scroll. Arlene assumed this was because it had the ability to fold into itself to become smaller, in the same way one would roll up a paper scroll.

After a warning from Glynda not to leave until morning, as the two vampires had no scrolls of their own and would not be able to reenter the room without aid, the two women entered their newest domicile. The room itself was rather large, somewhere about 15 feet (4.5m) x 15 feet, with a single king sized bed in the center, a single desk and chair placed against the wall, and a private bathroom.

As soon as the door closed, Arlene and Serana waited a few seconds for Glynda to leave before moving. Once they were sure she was gone, Arlene immediately looked to Serana and pointed to her ear, a simple hand signal they had developed.

Serana nodded and cast the Silence spell around them, creating a bubble where they could speak with one another, but no one outside of the bubble could listen in. Arlene knew that their privacy was suspect. She did not know what kind of scrying spells or strange listening devices Ozpin could have placed in this room.

Once Serana was sure that no eaves could be dropped on them, she turned to Arlene and said, "He's playing us, you know that right? He wants to use us for his own gain."

Arlene immediately let her polite facade fade and her face split into a savage grin. "That much is obvious. You saw what he was trying to do. He wanted to _corner_ us, make it seem that if we didn't ally with him we'd have to fight against the whole world alone."

"He wants to make us dependent on him." Serana agreed. "Trying to implant the idea that only he could protect us. His usage of his assistant was also rather clever."

Smirking, Arlene nodded her head in agreement. "He offered us sanctuary when he knew Goodwitch would object. By ignoring her genuine surprise and suspicion, he was able to make himself seem more magnanimous. A clever ruse, but too bad for him I've used that little trick myself."

"Every word he spoke was measured and careful. He underestimated us because he didn't know us, but he is obviously very experienced at this game, Arlene. He will wise up eventually." Serana had some concerns, but felt they could handle Ozpin should things go South. "Regardless, what do you want to do? I'll follow your lead, but are you really going to take up a teaching position here?"

Arlene smiled as she sat down in the office chair next to the desk. "Why not? Ozpin's offer is generous, no reason not to accept his hospitality for now. We are after all, in a strange land and sorely lack information."

"What about Tamriel?"

Arlene's smile faded into a frown. "Well that all depends, do you think you'd be able to get us back?"

Crossing her arms, Serana pursed her lips, thinking about all she knew of magic before answering. "All honesty? I doubt it. Quaranir used an Elder Scroll to send us here. Not even Alduin could resist magic of that power. Unless there are artifacts on this world that can rival the Scrolls, which considering their lack of magic I doubt, then we'll be stuck here."

Arlene was silent for a few moments, contemplating her plans and her future, before she simply shrugged and resumed smiling. "While I'm annoyed I can't destroy the Psijics, I did say I was growing bored with Tamriel, didn't I? Dominion was about to fall, Tulius had the Empire secure, Alduin, Miraak, and Haarkon were all dead. Not really too much left to do. But here? It's a new world, a new challenge." Arlene's grin became savage once more. "A new board for me to play with. I wonder what I'd be able to do here. What kingdoms I could topple, rulers depose. It's all just so much fun to think about."

"You were right, a month was far too generous odds for you. Truly, despite being a vampire, you are Boethiah's chosen." Serana shook her head. "Your addiction to the game of thrones aside, be wary of Ozpin. The magic I sensed within him is old. Very old. It would not surprise me if Ozpin is an immortal that has been playing the game for centuries."

Arnele scoffed. "Harkon and Elenwen both had centuries on me as well, but they are both dead now." Arlene then extended her hand and reached into her pocket dimension, pulling out a chessboard complete with all of the pieces set up. She placed the gameboard on the desk and wondered out loud, "I wonder who my opponent will be here."

"Is it not going to be Ozpin?"

Arlene tapped her chin, contemplating. "Perhaps. If he stands against me, he'll be the next entry on my list of dead immortals. But the way Ozpin reacted to us, to what we could do, what we knew. It was subtle but it was all there. Fear, desperation, hope. Why would he feel those? It's because he's fighting something else. A threat powerful enough that he is practically begging us for aid." Arlene smiled as she picked up the black queen piece. "And I think that person would be a much better opponent than some senile, old wizard."


	3. Chapter 3

Arlene's head hurt. Her vision was hazy, her hearing muffled. As she blinked her eyes awake, the bright, morning sun stung her eyes, despite the cool mist around her providing minimal shade. Arlene's entire body ached as well. She could feel a combination of bruises and the familiar sensation of a hangover send signals of pain throughout. Her wrists hurt the most. Confused as to why that was, Arlene's eyes widened as she saw that her hands were bound. Not only that, but she was sitting on the back of a horse-drawn cart, surrounded by three burly looking Nords in similar bonds around her.

"Hey you, you're finally awake." The muscular, blonde haired Nord wearing a blue cuirass in front of her said. "You were trying to cross the border right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that horse thief over there."

Arlene slowly turned her head. To her right was a brown haired Nord, obviously a noble by the fine robes and furs he was wearing. Strangely enough though, he seemed to be gagged while the rest of them had their mouths free. Meanwhile, diagonal to her, was a grubbier looking Nord, wearing rags like her and covered in dirt.

At his words, the thief and the blonde began arguing while Arlene tried to recall what had occurred last night. She had planned on coming to Skyrim for a while, but she never had enough gold to pay the exorbitant tolls the Empire used to finance their Legions. So, after finishing off that last bottle of Alto wine, she decided to dust off her old stealth skills and attempt to sneak her way across the border. But pretty much right after she got through, she accidentally stumbled into an entire Imperial Cohort. Arlene knew some God was laughing at her misfortune, but she didn't know which.

As this all came back to her, she let her head hang as she muttered out, "Fuck."

This drew the attention of the Blonde Nord back to her. "You feeling alright lass?" he asked.

"Feeling a lot of things right now." Arlene grumbled. "Regret. Depression. A real mean hangover."

The blonde man chuckled as the gagged noble beside her gave her a strange, confused look.

"What's the matter with him?" the horse thief asked, gesturing to the noble.

"Watch your tongue!" The blonde snarled. "You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak. The true High King!"

Arlene had no idea who that was.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm?" the horse thief conveniently explained, before his eyes went wide in realization. "You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you… Oh gods, where are they taking us?!"

Jarl? Was that some kind of Count? Damn humans and all of their convoluted social hierarchy. The second part of the statement caught her attention though. Leader of the rebellion. She heard rumors of war in Skyrim down South, but didn't pay too much attention to it. If the gagged noble next to her was really the leader, then there's only one place they were going to send them. Arlene sighed. This was a fitting end, she supposed. After everything she's done, death by an Imperial headsman seemed like good karmic punishment.

The horse thief immediately began to freak out, praying to any god that would listen to him for deliverance. Meanwhile the blonde nord seemed to assent to his current circumstances, instead allowing himself to be lost within his nostalgia of the town, talking of lost love and juniper berries. Soon enough, they reached the end of the line as the carts rode into Helgen's town square, the Imperial Army already set up for an execution. The prisoners were herded out of the carts by the guards, and unsurprisingly, besides her and the thief, they all seemed to be the blue-clad rebels.

To her annoyance, the horse thief stood next to Arlene and cried out, "No! Wait! We're not rebels!" The thief looked on the verge of tears while Arlene only rolled her eyes.

"Face your death with some courage, thief." The blonde rebel grumbled out. "Look at the she-elf there, you don't see her mewling like a milkmaid."

Arlene glared at the blonde before looking back forward. No point in starting a fight here and getting a premature execution. Might as well draw this out for as long as she could.

The thief wasn't dissuaded however. "You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!"

Then, a female Imperial officer, a Captain, if Arlene's memory of Imperial armor ranks was accurate, yelled out over him. "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time!"

"Empire loves their damn lists." The blonde growled under his breath.

Next to the Captain, a broad shouldered Nord with brown hair looked down at his book. "Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." The noble stepped forward, stoic and proud despite the situation, and made his way to the block.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." The blonde said.

"Ralof of Riverwood." was the next name called. The blonde gave Arlene a curt nod, before walking to the block himself.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

The thief panicked when his name was called. "No, I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" With a burst of flight or fight adrenaline, the thief shoved his way past Arlene and sprinted through the Imperial lines. The Captain called for him to halt, but Lokir kept running. "You're not going to kill me!" he cried out.

A single order to the archers proved him wrong. As the guards picked up Lokir's dead body off the ground, the Nord calling out the names looked at Arlene, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wait. You there. Step forward." He called out. Arlene obliged. "Who, are you?"

Arlene sighed. "Arlene, no clan or hold name." she abandoned those long ago.

"Not many wood elves would choose to come alone to Skyrim." The Nord legionnaire looked down at his book, then back at the officer. "Captain. What should we do? She's not on the list."

"Forget the list. She goes to the block." she commanded.

"By your orders, Captain. Follow the captain, prisoner." the Nord said. At the very least, he looked genuinely sorry to put Arlene in this position.

Arlene just shrugged to him as she followed the crowd of prisoners and took her place in line to the headsman. An older Imperial in ornate armor walked up to Ulfric and began talking about his crimes. General Tullius, she recalled Ralof calling him. Arlene zoned out as they did, she honestly couldn't care less about their posturing or their war. However, a roar in the distance drew everyone's attention.

"What was that?" The Nord Legionnaire asked, concern coloring his voice.

"It's nothing. Carry on." General Tullious ordered.

_That… was not nothing_ , Arlene thought to herself. Arlene, having been a ranger for years, knew what animals sounded like. She heard the howls of wolves and roars of bears. She'd seen massive lions in Elsweyr and griffons in the Summerset Isles. None of those sounded anywhere near as terrifying as whatever made that noise.

The execution continued on however. A priestess of Arkay began their last rites, only to be interrupted by an impatient prisoner who seemed eager to join his ancestors in the next world. The crowd surrounding broke out into both cheers and condemnation as the rebel's head fell into a wooden crate, and the executer kicked the body off the block.

"Next, the elf!" The captain called out.

Before Arlene had a chance to step forward, the roar came again, this time louder and definitely closer. Arlene froze and looked up to the sky, an action mirrored by those around her.

"There it is again. Did you hear that?" The Nord Legionnaire asked once more.

"I said, next prisoner!" The captain gritted through her teeth.

The Nord sighed. "To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy."

Arlene slowly approached the chopping block with resigned acceptance. She found it a little disappointing that she came all this way to end her journey here, but she supposed that was just how life worked. A life full of pain, disappointment, and then she dies. Reaching the still bloody chopping block, Arlene kneeled down, turning her head to the side so she could at least look the headsman in the eyes as he did the deed.

As Arlene watched the headsman raise his axe high, her eyes widened. Not from the sight of the man about to kill her, but at the sight of a fucking _dragon_ coming right towards her. As the executioner brought his axe above his head, the dragon landed on the watchtower behind him, knocking him off balance. The dragon let out a roar that sounded more like thunder tearing apart the sky. And it must've done just that as the sky changed colors, shifting from blue to orange as fire rained down from above.

The scene immediately erupted into chaos. All around her, Imperial legionnaires were crying out, launching spells and arrows at the dragon that only seemed to ping off of its blacked armor. The attack seemed to distract everyone around her as she stood up and no one tried to capture her. She wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, or in this case a gift dragon. Especially when said dragon was burning people alive with its firebreath.

"Hey Elf!" The familiar voice of Ralof called out, no longer bound by his rope. "Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!"

Ralof took off running for a nearby watchtower, and Arlene moved to follow him. If the Imperials wanted to go toe to toe with a dragon, they could be her guest. She wanted to live. The next moments passed in an adrenaline fueled blur. Arlene ran up the tower, and was nearly incinerated as the dragon broke through the wall itself and released a torrent of fire. She then had to jump from the breach in the tower to a nearby burning inn, keeping a fast pace as the dragon burned the village around her.

Outside of the Tavern, Arlene caught sight of the Nordic Legionnaire once more, calling to a young boy to get into cover. Just as they ducked out of sight of the dragon, the beast spewed another stream of flames. The Nord, having caught sight of Arlene, then called out to her.

"Still alive prisoner? Keep close to me if you want to stay that way." he barked out.

He was the one with the sword, so Arlene wasn't going to argue. The Legionnaire, whose name Arlene finally learned was Hadvar from a local, pushed forward to the largest concentration of Imperials shooting into the sky in vain. Running through the burning town Arlene and Hadvr crouched behind a wall, getting ready to sprint to General Tullius' position, when the ground shook at the sound of the dragon landing above them.

"YOL… TOOR… SHUL!" The dragon roared, spewing fire from its maw.

Arlene fell to the ground, curling up into a ball as a large, black claw crushed the wall beside her, gripping onto the stonework. The dragon continued to roar as flames charred a half a dozen imperials in seconds. Arlene covered her ears at the sound, screaming as the tears that fell down her face instantly evaporated from the heat.

The dragon didn't seem to notice Arlene's panicked cries of terror as it leaped off the wall and took off to the skies once more. Arlene remained curled up on the ground, shaking in terror. This was all too much for her. Nothing about this whole situation made sense. She was going to die here, a charred, crispy corpse for the dragon to gnaw on. She made no motion to move as despair took over.

She felt someone grab the crook of her arm and lift her up. "Come on! Get up!" Hadvar yelled, yanking Arlene to her feet.

As Hadvar ran forward, Arlene dumbly followed, unsure of anything else to do. Running through another burning house, the duo reached the last of the Imperials, legionnaires loosing arrows and shooting firebolts into the sky while General Tullis spat out orders.

The General saw them approached and yelled, "Hadvar! Into the keep soldier, we're leaving!"

General Tullius' forces began to push out of the front gate, drawing the attention of the dragon while Hadvar grabbed onto Arlene once more and began making his way to the keep. "It's you and me, prisoner. Stay close!"

As they approached the keep, a familiar face intercepted them. Ralof, the blonde Stormcloak rebel, now armed with a sword of his own. The two nords stopped and stared at one another, hate and anger apparent in their faces, but tempered by current circumstances.

"Ralof! You damned traitor!" Hadvar barked. "Out of my way!"

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time." Ralof snapped back. Arlene could tell he didn't want to fight, but would if Hadvar attempted to stop him.

Hadvar relented first. "Fine. I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde! Let's go prisoner, I'll cut you loose in the keep!"

"You!" Ralof pointed to Arlene. "Come on, into the keep!"

Huh. Two burly nord men fighting for Arlene's attention. Well something good had to come out of today she supposed. And neither were bad looking as well. The dragon roared once more, snapping Arlene out of her fantasy, and she made a snap decision to run after Hadvar. At the very least he was more courteous and less blatantly racist than Ralof.

Once inside the keep, Arlene felt her adrenaline dip as she felt she was out of immediate danger. To his word, Hadvar cut Arlene's bindings, freeing her wrists as he made some idle talk about the dragon and some myth about End Times.

"There you go. Take a look around, there should be some gear you can choose from. I'm going to see if I can find something for these burns." Hadvar said.

Nodding her head once more, Arlene moved to follow Hadvar's orders. In a nearby chest, she found a set of light Imperial leather armor, and an iron sword on a nearby weapon rack. Arlene found it ironic that she was now donning the armor of the men who had just tried to kill her, but practicality took precedence over anything else right now.

"You better get that armor on." Hadvar called out from behind her while applying a white salve to his burns. "Give that sword a few swings too."

Not wanting to waste any time, Arlene began to strip, removing the ragged tunic she was wearing and exposing her bare torso. As she began to untie the rope that held up her trousers, her sixth sense told her she was being watched. Peering over her shoulder, she saw Hadvar staring at her, wide-eyed and face tomato red.

"Uh… do you mind?" she practically whispered.

Hadvar coughed into his hand and averted his eyes, suddenly becoming very interested in the corner of the room. "Sorry." he mumbled.

Arlene lightly chuckled as she slipped out of her trousers and put on the armor. The armor consisted mostly of a leather vest and skirt, worn over a thick, red tunic. The style was familiar and comfortable to Arlene, giving her basic protection that didn't impede her movement. The sword wasn't honed to even a fine edge, but was still sharp enough that it would kill a man with enough effort.

"Done." Arlene weakly announced.

Hadvar was sure to give a quick peek behind to make sure she was decent before fully turning around. "Right…" Hadvar ignored what just happened and made sure to avoid looking at Arlene. "Let's keep moving, that thing is still out there."

Arlene nodded, more than happy to let Hadvar take the lead. Together they worked their way through the interior of the dungeon. Everytime Hadvar would give an order, Arlene would meekly follow. Luckily, within the keep Arlene found that things once more began to make sense. Instead of dodging a flying dragon, intent on burning everyone alive, the duo would engage blue-clad rebels similarly trying to escape the carnage. Arlene focused on following Hadvar's commands and killing the Stomcloaks, shoving any thoughts of the dragon out of her mind, pretending it didn't even exist.

Arlene would hide in the shadows, letting Hadvar attract the attention of any errant Stormcloaks they came across as she flanked them from behind. It was dirty fighting that no respectable Nord would partake in, but it's regrettably the only way she really knew how to fight. After all, fighting in a straight fight wasn't all that fair and honorable when every Nord she came across had twice the muscle mass she did.

Once they made their way out of the keep's dungeons, they found that the dungeons led to a natural cave system that provided a secret way out of the village. Hadvar provided her with a simple recurve hunting bow, which felt far more natural in her hands than the sword. After a well placed sneak attack on a local cave bear, the duo eventually found an escape into the nearby forest. Arlene found it strange that there just happened to conveniently be an escape here, but she chose not to question it and decided that the Gods work in mysterious ways.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, Arlene allowed herself a near manic laugh as they narrowly escaped death, letting the relief wash over her. As Hadvar approached her from behind to see if she was ok, a thunderous _roar_ echoed through the sky once more. Hadvar instantly dropped low, crouching behind a boulder as the black dragon flew overhead. Arlene jumped as soon as the dragon roared, practically throwing herself into Hadvar's arms, unable to control her shaking.

"Whoa!" Hadvar cried out as Arlene latched onto him. Unsure of what to do, Hadvar awkwardly put his hands around Arlene in an attempt to comfort the traumatized elf. "Hey uh… you're ok. You're ok, I got you."

It took nearly a full minute after the dragon had flown off into the distance for Arlene to work up the nerve to let go of Hadvar, realizing the awkwardness of their embrace.

"Uh… sorry." Arlene gave a weak smile. "It's been… a long day."

"Heh, you're telling me." Hadvar chuckled, before looking back to the sky after the dragon. "Looks like he's gone for good this time. But I don't think we should stick around to see if he comes back. Closest town from here is Riverwood. My uncle's the blacksmith there. I'm sure he'd help you out."

Arlene nodded her head, grabbing her arm as she looked at the ground. "Yeah… yeah that sounds like a good idea." She then looked back up to her companion. "What about you?"

"I can walk with you to Riverwood, rest there as well, but afterwards it'd probably be best if we split up. The Legion will need my help. But I do want to say, I wouldn't have made it with your help today. And while we may not have made the best impression today, you should go to Solitude and join up with the Legion. We could really use someone like you."

Arlene felt herself brighten at the praise. Wow, her first real compliment in Gods know how many years. Usually the best she would get were other mercs calling out how tight her butt looked. Of course, she had no real intention on joining the Legion, as getting involved in the war was one of the last things on her mind, right next to fighting that black dragon. But it still felt good to be praised.

"Maybe, who knows what the future holds." Arlene shrugged before moving forward along the road. "But before that, some food and rest at your uncle's sounds lovely." And with that Arlene took her first real steps on her newest adventure in Skyrim.

* * *

**Beacon Academy, Present Day…**

Arlene groggily awoke, her crusty eyes straining to open. As they did, her sight focused on the sleeping face of Serana beside her, highlighted by the morning rays peeking through the curtains. Arlene smiled. While bed itself wasn't the pinnacle of comfort, there was nothing better than waking up in the embrace of a lover. Inching herself closer, Arlene placed a kiss on the vampire princess's lips, stirring her from her slumber as well.

"Morning." Arlene purred.

"Uggggh." Serana groaned, not wishing to leave the realm of dreams yet and buried her head back in her pillow.

The Dragonborn smirked. There was some kind of joke about a vampire not being a morning person, but she thought it was too easy. Gingerly plucking herself out of their bed, Arlene strode her nude form to the bathroom. Turning the nozzle of the shower, Arlene let the warm water flow over her, massaging her body. If there was anything Arlene loved about this world, it wasn't their powers, or their weapons, but their baths and showers.

Arlene had been to various bathhouses and hot springs in Tamriel. And she had _very_ fond memories of visiting the priestess in the Temple of Dibella's secret bathhouse. Heh, good times. But to have hot, clean water like this on demand? Without the use of magic? Revolutionary. She'd give half her fortune to have these installed in her various manors and homes.

Her morning shower done, Arlene dried herself and moved to decide what to wear for today. With a snap of her fingers, a set of black and red vampire armor requipped over her form. She looked at herself in the mirror for a bit, before snapping her fingers again, her outfit shifting to the Dark Brotherhood's Shrouded Armor. After a few more seconds of thought, she shook her head, and with a final snap, she was requipped with her Nightingale Armor. While she wanted to change it up, this was the armor Ozpin and the others first saw her weeks ago, and she wanted to be very careful in showing what she had available.

Two weeks. That's how long the vampire sisters have been in Remnant for already. And they did not spend that time idle. Every day, the two vampires spent learning more and more about the world of Remnant, about its culture, history, and technology. Both women were fast learners, and a crash course from Glynda was all they needed to gain a proficiency with most of the world's appliances. She also taught them about Dust, its uses and applications, in addition to the many types of new weapons the world had developed.

Dust was something both Arlene and Serana found baffling. They were like Soul Gems, but instead of containing the souls of creatures, they held concentrated destruction or alteration magic. Serana had immediately begun collecting as much as she could for further experimentation, while Arlene began to integrate them into her weapons, creating dust crystal arrowheads. The creation of firearms were also baffling to them. A small, indignant part of Arlene's elven pride argued that her bows were the superior projectile weapon, but she knew that was a lie. The speed, rate of fire, and accuracy of such weapons were jaw dropping to her. Through the school, she was able to acquire an Atlesian pistol and pulse rifle, and would set herself to master this new way of fighting.

Beyond that, the perks of living within a school became apparent when the other professors also volunteered their time to teach the two vampires about Remnant. Doctor Oobleck was more than happy to teach them about Remnant's history and cultures, while Professor Port educated them on the various types of Grimm and how to combat them, and Professor Peach taught them of the world's many plants and medicines. Years worth of knowledge were being crammed into them over the course of weeks by the more than eccentric teachers, but the two women were prodigious students and consumed the knowledge greedily. While two weeks wasn't enough time to become experts, they had more than enough foundational knowledge that they could operate on this world without drawing suspicion.

So, with her outfit for the day chosen, Arlene left her bathroom just in time for Serana to groggily trudge in after her. The elder vampire gave a small yelp as Arlene stealthily pinched her bottom as they walked past one another. Serana turned and scowled at Arlene, pouting before she closed the bathroom. Arlene only returned a playful smirk. She'd admit, she was probably a little over excited, but today was an important day! Today was the arrival day for the prospective students. Children from all over Remnant were going to be testing themselves in Beacon's initiation tomorrow, all in order to become some of the greatest warriors Remnant has ever seen. And who better to train, develop, and manipulate them than Arlene herself. The idea of having dozens or hundreds of huntsmen and huntresses loyal to her was making her giddy.

A few minutes later, Serana was bathed and dressed as well and the duo left their rooms to go meet with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch in order to prepare themselves for the new arrivals. The duo found the headmaster and his assistant within his office, sipping his usual cup of coffee.

"Ah, Arlene, Serana, please come in." Ozpin greeted as they entered.

"Ozpin." Arlene returned a neutral nod.

"I'm glad the two of you have arrived so early. How was your rest?" Ozpin asked.

"Rest?" Arlene raised a brow as she smirked. "All honesty, not the best. Had some excess energy we needed to burn off, all night long- ugh" Arlene grunted as Serana elbowed her for her salacious gossip.

Glynda rolled her eyes, already used to Arlene's juvenile nature, and if Ozpin was affected by the comments, he didn't show it.

"It is good to be, young I suppose." Ozpin said, taking the comment in stride. "Regardless, the two of you both remember your tasks for today?"

"Of course, Professor Ozpin." Serana cut in, seeking to ensure that Arlene stayed on track. "We need to keep an eye out for any potential troublemakers, and ensure that we are not seen by the students."

"Indeed." Ozpin nodded. "Now, as you've been told, your cover story is that you are both huntresses graduated from Shade, that lived in the Vacuan village of Tuff. When the town was destroyed several years ago by the grimm, you then left Vacuo. But being faunus, you didn't particularly feel welcome in any major settlement in any of the other kingdoms. So you spent your next years living a nomadic lifestyle within the wilderness, honing your skills are rangers and huntresses, after which you were recruited by an agent of mine. Impressed with your skills, he then brought you to Beacon where Arlene was given the invitation to become a professor."

Arlene grinned. "Save for the fact that we're from another world, that is pretty much the truth." That was a lie.

The discovery of Fanus on this world was perhaps the greatest boon the vampires could have stumbled upon, save for reversing time and hiding their magic. The fact that Ozpin and the other professors weren't surprised by Arlene's appearance made her believe that they had elves here as well. But the truth was, that they had mistaken both her and Serana for bat fanus, and the two women were in no hurry to correct them. This meant that their capabilities as vampires would be unknown and hidden from Beacon's staff, something that they will make full use of.

Ozpin returned the smile. "All good lies remain as close to the truth as possible."

"Don't I know it." Arlene beamed.

"There are however, a few more details we need to work out in your profiles." Ozpin continued. "Primarily, what do you two wish to put down as your relationship with one another? It's even a bit unclear to us, so it's best to get everyone's story straight."

"Wives!"-"Sisters." Arlene and Serana said at the same time, causing them to glance at each other, Arlene with a pout and Serana with a scowl.

"Ugggh, you just need to give in already." Arlene groaned.

Glynda sighed at their antics while Ozpin just raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you two wish to talk about?" he asked with a slight chuckle under his breath.

"Ozpin, we are not playing couples counselors with these two." Glynda deadpanned.

"There's not really much to talk about." Serana's monotone voice matched Glynda's almost perfectly. "Arlene's been courting me for the past decade, trying to convince me to marry her."

"You said yes that one time in Markarth!" Arlene complained.

"First." Serana snapped back. "We were drunk. Very drunk. Second, we agreed never to talk about Markarth."

Glynda's jaw dropped a fraction at Arlene. "Ten years. I'm shocked you have been so persistent."

Arlene turned to blonde and shrugged with a smile. "I'm a persistent woman. Not to mention I'm still young, I have time."

"Perhaps. But you two shouldn't wait too long. Youth only lasts for so long, and you wouldn't want to miss out on what could be." Ozpin sagely added.

Arlene grinned. "Of course not, professor."

"Regardless, I'll put you two down as sisters. As such it would be best for you two to refrain from any public displays of affection, lest you invite awkward questions." Ozpin said. The two women gave brief acknowledgement before he continued. "Now I believe that was the last of the important details we needed to iron out. Why don't the two of you go and monitor the arriving students? See what kind of children you will be teaching for the coming years."

"Funny you say that, since we were just going to go out and do that very thing."

"Well, I don't want to keep you waiting then. Go, and enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks professor. I'll see you around Glynda." Arlene winked at the senior teacher.

Glynda sighed and rolled her eyes once more as the two sisters left the office.

"You seem to be doing that far more often now." Ozpin commented as he took a sip from his coffee.

Glynda's eyes narrowed on her superior. "I am doing that Ozpin, because you deem it fit to allow that child of a woman free reign on our campus."

"Come now Glynda, while Arlene could do with some more focus, and Serana could learn more sympathy, I believe their talents and skills outweigh any negatives. And such traits are something we as teachers could impart onto them."

Glynda paused, mulling over Ozpin's words. "If you say so, professor. But regardless of how useful of an _asset_ you think they can be, I feel you are giving them far too much trust."

"One does not build a relationship alone, Glynda." Ozpin reassured his subordinate. "By giving trust, we will get trust in return. And with that trust, we have the foundation for a strong alliance."

* * *

Arlene and Serana left Ozpin's office, the former having a bit of a jovial hop in her step. As they entered the elevator, Arlene's stride returned to normal, falling in step with Serana.

"Hm, so that went well." Arlene commented, hooking her arm into Serana's.

"Indeed. Ozpin seemed to enjoy your immaturity, while Glynda will come to appreciate my disciplined professionalism." Serana replied.

This was an old song and dance Arlene and Serana performed whenever they entered a new town. Arlene would play the fool, a child at heart whose humor would disarm and endear her to others as a friend, getting them to lower their guards around her. While Serana played the straight man, the serious, professional counterpart that would be approached whenever something needed to get done. It was a play that exaggerated their natural characteristics and set expectations for them, which they would later use to their advantage.

"Yep." Arlene said, putting extra pop in the 'p'. "Wonder how long it'll take them to catch on."

"If all goes according to plan, never."

"Ha, ever the optimist." with a _ping,_ the elevator reached ground level and opened up its doors. "So, to the air docks then? I do want to ensure that we don't miss out on any potential recruits." Arlene's eyes gained a dangerous glint.

Serana returned the look with a predatory one of her own. "Of course." Grasping each other's hands, the two vampires called upon the shadows and vanished from sight.

Reaching the air docks was child's play for the women as they sat invisible underneath the shade of a tree. While they were powerful enough vampires that they wouldn't die underneath the rays of the Sun, it was still uncomfortable to them and affected their regenerative powers. As they sat undetected, the first of the massive bullheads landed, opening their exit hatches and releasing their passengers.

Within seconds, the first prospective student burst out, a blonde squire wearing a patchwork of plate armor that immediately rushed to a trashcan to start vomiting. The two vampires grimaced and already wrote him off.

"That's… pathetic." Arlene sneered. "How did that lumber footed monkey get into this school?"

"Initiation hasn't happened so the chaff has yet to be separated from the wheat." Serana flatly said as they moved onto the other incoming students.

Dozens if not hundreds of brightly colored teenages made their way off the airship and onto Beacon's grounds. As it was with the blonde knight, the majority of the students weren't impressive to either vampire. They were, as to be expected, children. Heavily armed children, but naive nonetheless. But that also made them perfectly impressionable for recruitment into their eventual vampire coven.

A small explosion stole their attention. Looking at ground zero, the two saw a red-themed girl get into an argument with a snow white colored older girl.

"Hmm, what do you think about them?" Arlene asked as she listened into their argument.

Serana watched the girl in white berate the younger one for a few moments before responding. "An obvious noble. Proud, headstrong, more than likely cutthroat. All in all a perfect vampire candidate."

Arlene nodded. "I agree. She even has servants moving her luggage for her. That means resources and connections at the minimum." As the white-haired girl left, the girl in red let herself lie flat on the ground, until the blonde swordsman came to help her up. Arlene wasn't sure why, but she had a strange feeling about the girl. "What about red riding hood? She seems… off."

Narrowing her eyes, Serana seemed to sense it as well. She waved her hand in front of her, casting Detect Magic. "That's because she has magic within her beyond just aura. It seems to be focused in her eyes."

"Well isn't that interesting. Explains why she is here when she is obviously younger than everyone else." Arlene grew a sly grin. "She is definitely on the list then."

"Agreed. Now, anyone else catch your eye?"

Arlene scanned the crowd. A few students here and there stood out, for example a pink haired girl that exuded confidence, or an amber-eyed black-themed girl with a bow that seemed to stick to the shadows. But one student in particular caught the Dragonborn's fancy.

The girl had a predatory gait, despite the reserved professionalism she exuded as her heels clicked on the ground. Every step she took was measured, and her stance was relaxed but ready to shift into battle at a moment's notice. She didn't even seem to be consciously doing it. It was the stance of a veteran warrior with years of experience and training that bled into her everyday life.

It also didn't hurt that the girl was very attractive. Tall with toned, long legs that were just peeking through her skirt and armored greaves, her body was sculpted and muscular in a way that would make the Nord women of Skyrim jealous. Her crimson and brown armor, which reminded Arlene somewhat of light Imperial Legionnaire armor, complimented her scarlet hair and green eyes. She must've held some form of importance or local fame, as many other students parted around her, eyes wide with recognition and admiration.

Arlene gave a low whistle. "Damn, look at her. She's like a younger, Imperial version of Aela."

Serana raised an incredulous eyebrow to her partner. "Isn't she a little young for you?"

"They're humans, they're all too young for me." Arlene defended herself, before looking at Serana accusingly. "Besides you don't have room to talk. You are ten times my age, at a minimum."

"True, but at least you were unquestionably an adult before I sunk my corrupting fangs into you." Serana rolled her eyes before focusing back on the redheaded faux-Imperial. "Regardless, we're getting off topic. I do agree that she looks a cut above everyone else here. Easily the most experienced."

Arlene had a grin plastered on her face. "Exactly. She's on the list."

Both Serana and Arlene continued their borderline stalking, people watching for several more minutes as the students milled about, eventually all making their way to the school's training area. Satisfied with their first round of scouting, they returned to the interior of the academy where they began plotting their next steps to subvert the future students of Beacon.

* * *

The next day came quickly as the prospective students all spent the night within the ballroom. While the teenagers were getting ready to deploy into the Emerald Forest, Arlene and Serana followed Ozpin's orders to keep out of sight of all of the students. After another short speech, the students were catapulted into the forest below to begin their initiation, leaving only Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch, and the two hidden vampires on the cliffside.

"You can come out now you two." Ozpin calmly called out.

Arlene didn't know if Ozpin actually knew they were there or was just assuming they were there, and while not appearing and making him talk to the air like a madman would be funny, it would also make them look bad. So the two vampires materialized out of the shadows of a nearby tree, breaking their invisibility and approached.

"I have to say Ozpin, I've seen a few crazy initiation rituals in my day, but this has to take the cake." Arlene said, appreciating both the deadliness and the spectacle of throwing kids off a cliff.

The headmaster smirked. "I'm glad I could entertain you. Unfortunately, you won't be able to stay up here to enjoy the showing for much longer." He then took a sip from his coffee mug.

Arlene raised a brow. "That so? So what, praytell, shall I be doing?"

"While this is an initiation for the students, this is also going to be an initiation for you." he flatly explained. "While I have no doubts about your skills and abilities, this will give me something more concrete than merely your word to justify your hiring."

Stuffing down her internal annoyance at being ambushed by this, Arlene smiled and shrugged. "Fair enough I suppose. So, what kind of test will I be taking? At the very least, could it not be one of those damned multiple choice tests Doctor Oobleck seems so fond of."

Ozpin suppressed a chuckle. "Don't worry, this is a far more practical exam. Now, if you were paying attention to my speech, I told the students that if they failed to perform at an adequate standard during this initiation, they will receive no aid from the instructors and more than likely die." Ozpin took a sip of coffee. "That was a lie."

Arlene snorted. "That so? Assume you wanted to scare the little buggers."

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. I said that mostly to ensure the students treated this initiation with the proper respect and caution it deserves. After all, as you are aware we are fighting a war against a limitless foe. And wasting lives willing to fight that foe in such a manner is pointless to say the least. So while they may lack the skills and drive to become huntsmen and huntresses, they can still take up occupations with the militia, police, and military. Your test specifically, shall be to infiltrate the forest, remain unseen by the students still taking initiation, and exfiltrate any students who fail."

Sighing, Arlene nodded her head. While it was annoying that this was just being dropped on her, most of her adventuring career consisted of people dropping tasks on her lap that she didn't want to do, so this was nothing new. "Don't get spotted, kill some monsters, save some kids, got it. Sounds like an average Turdas to me." Arlene requipped her Nightingale bow and walked to the edge of the cliff.

"We have cameras set up throughout the forest, and we'll send you the location of any teams requiring extraction via your scroll." Glynda finally added in, tapping on her larger tablet, before looking at the Dragonborn. "I assume you have a landing strategy?"

Arlene grinned. "Please Glynda. That was covered in Adventuring 101."

The Dragonborn took a few steps back, standing atop one of the many launch pads. With a quick two-finger salute to Ozpin, she was catapulted into the air. Arlene had been sent flying through the sky many times in her career, whether it was jumping off mountains, soaring on the backs of dragons, or flying with Serana's power. It was an exhilarating feeling that sent her draconic self into a frenzy. In all honesty, fuck the Levitation Act of 421 for taking this feeling away from most mages.

And of course Arlene did have many options for landing. It was one of the most important skills to gain while traversing the heights of Skyrim's mountains or the depths of its caverns. But as was expected of her, she decided to go with one of her more subtle abilities. While she was never skilled enough in alteration to cast spells such as Levitate or Fly, she at the very least learned how to cast Slow Fall from Serana. So with an arcane gesture, Arlene's body was suffused with purple energy, reducing the speed of her fall as she gently landed on the ground.

Immediately Arlene was once more in her element. She took to the trees, climbing onto its branches to give her the advantages of cover and the high ground. Moving forward, Arlene leapt from tree branch to tree branch to close in on the highest concentration of students. She would maintain her distance so she wouldn't be seen, but wanted to be close enough to intervene if possible. Masking herself from the grimm both visually and auditorily was child's play, and she bled none of the negative emotions that would attract their attention magically.

The first few minutes passed by without event. Arlene could hear the sounds of combat, sporadic gunfire, explosions, and battle cries echoed throughout the forest, but until she received a message from Glynda, she would stay. Soon enough, her scroll pinged, giving her a waypoint of a team of nearby students needing help.

With an inhuman burst of speed, Arlene made her way to the indicated location. Powerful muscles infused with aura allowed her to run at speeds she never experienced before without the use of magic. She crossed hundreds of feet in seconds, and approached the endangered students. Leaping to another branch overlooking a clearing, she saw the group needing help.

In the clearing she saw two students, one boy and one girl. The girl had a forest green theme to her, with a green pony tail and similarly colored gambeson, wielding an arming sword and buckler. She had a terrified expression on her face as she swung her sword in a panicked frenzy, standing over her companion. The boy was oranged themed, wearing a puffy orange vest and had some kind of hoverboard next to him. Unfortunately, the weapon was useless as he was unconscious, bleeding from a head wound.

Circling above them was a massive grimm with the shape of a lion and two eagle like wings that kept it aloft. Instead of a mane of fur, its bone helmet protruded backwards with four crests. Arlene recognized the beast as a Sphinx, a rarer grimm in these parts, and deadly for those unfamiliar with fighting airborne targets. As the Sphinx flew around for another pass, it belched out two fireballs that exploded near the two teens. The girl was able to block one of its shots with her buckler, but was knocked down as the second fireball exploded between her and the unconscious boy.

With no time to waste, Arlene dashed forward to their position. The girl was having a full panic attack, rolling around on the ground and patting herself to put out the fire. When Arlene arrived, the fire was out but the girl was hyperventilating, obviously out of her depth. A quick Calm spell from Arlene got her to relax, reducing the likelihood she would be targeted. She then threw a quick Healing Hands on the boy, stabilizing him and healing any internal injuries he might've had.

"Sit down and shut up girl, and you might just see this day through." Arlene hissed out to the teen.

The girl dumbly nodded and crouched down, keeping her shield up to protect her unconscious companion. Satisfied that they wouldn't get in her way, Arlene watched as the Sphinx circled above them. Part of her considered using the Dragonrend shout, to see if it would ground the beast as it did dragons, but she nixed that idea. While Ozpin knew of her magic, he knew nothing of her thu'um. And she knew for a fact that both he and Goodwitch were watching her. So she'd hold it back for now, as the less he knew about her capabilities the better.

Reaching into her quiver, she pulled out a wooden arrow that had an ice dust crystal arrowhead. She had made sure to acquire a number of arrows with varying elemental dust effects, both for their utility, and to hide the fact that the bow itself had magical powers.

Leading the shot, Arlene loosed the arrow right for the sphinx's wings. For most people it was a difficult shot, a moving target several hundred feet in the air, but Arlene had years of practice shooting dragons out of the sky. The arrow flew true as it struck the wings right at the scapular joint where it connected to the main body. The ice dust fused with the magic of the Nightingale bow itself, causing an explosion of frost energy that froze both wings in their entirety.

No longer able to keep itself aloft, the sphinx fell out the sky like a sack of bricks. As it approached the ground, it spread its legs out in order to catch itself and use the momentum to keep going forward. It's plan was cut short as Arlene loosed another ice dust arrow, this time piercing the sphinx's right foreleg. The dust exploded in a white-misty cloud, freezing the limb completely. As the sphinx hit the ground, the limb shattered into a thousand pieces, sending the grimm hurtling forward as the momentum dragged it through the grass. Heavily wounded, the sphinx tried its best to lift itself off the ground, before a final arrow pierced its skull-mask, giving it a nasty case of brain freeze as it died instantly.

The girl's jaw dropped at the ease at which Arlene killed the sphinx. A terror which was likely to be her death was put down in a matter of seconds. She was snapped out of stupor as Arlene gave a sharp whistle, getting her attention. The teen looked up to the vampire in shock, mouth open and eyes wide.

"Get up kid. You failed initiation, but you get to live so… congratulations?" Arlene shrugged.

Overwhelmed by the entirety of the situation, the girl only dumbly nodded as she picked up her ally. Arlene escorted the two to the nearest extraction point, where they were then covertly picked up by a bullhead. This pattern continued on for the next few hours. Small groups of students would be isolated from any potential allies, surrounded by grimm. Arlene would ambush their attackers, slay them, and then escort the washouts to the edge of the forest. Soon enough, initiation came to a close as the last remaining successful teams brought their chess pieces back to the Academy.

With initiation finished, Arlene found herself publicly standing amongst the rest of Beacon's faculty as the team naming ceremony commenced. She could see students whispering to each other, giving subtle looks and gestures to Arlene. This wasn't out of place, as she was a complete unknown standing along some of the greatest huntsmen in Vale.

"And finally, Black Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose!" Professor Ozpin announced to the passing student body.

A roar of applause erupted from the crowd, congratulating the teenage girls on their naming. As the blonde Yang Xiao Long ran to her sister to congratulate her, Blake gave a small smile to the two while Weiss simply looked shocked. Arlene didn't blame her, but also wasn't surprised. Having reviewed the footage of initiation, Arlene found Ruby to be naive and eccentric, but at the very least had a decent tactical mind and some charisma. Weiss, who obviously wanted to be leader, may be intelligent but had about as much charisma and likeability as Nazeem. Which was to say, none at all.

As the students made their way off of the stage, Professor Ozpin stepped up once more to address the crowd. "Now, while I know you all have had a long day and wish to see your new dorms, I do have one final announcement to make." The crowd's ambient noise and discussions fell away as Ozpin spoke. "The mission of Beacon Academy is not simply to train the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses, but to be exactly what it's named for, a beacon. A symbol of hope and progress that not only other academies can look to, but that the whole world can look to. But unfortunately, there are some areas at which we have failed to uphold ourselves to that standard."

The confused murmuring of the crowd began once more as Ozpin paused for a beat before continuing. "It has been many years since the end of the Faunus Rights Revolution, and despite the great progress we as a kingdom have made in bringing equality for the Faunus, hatred and bigotry still remain a constant. This cannot stand. We must be united in the face of our common foe, the grimm, for they do not care if you are human or faunus, Valean or Atlesian. For them, we are all prey. We must let go of the petty grievances and hatred of the past, and walk hand in hand to the future. But pretty words are worthless without action. And so, in order to achieve this goal, Beacon Academy is taking the first steps for greater inclusion and representation for the faunus at our school. This includes the hiring of the first ever faunus professor at Beacon Academy. May I introduce to everyone, Arlene Volkihar, Beacon's newest professor of Pathfinding and Wilderness Survival!"

Arlene, having stood through many such grand speeches, knew to step forward, smile, and gave some small waves. She watched as the auditorium was filled with a mixture of jubilant cheers and confused grumbling. The few faunus students she could see in the crowd were heartily applauding, while a minority of humans seemed disgusted. The rest merely gave the polite applause she deserved. And while Arlene gave her professional greetings under a well practiced smile, on the inside she was glaring at Professor Ozpin. That motherfucker used her for good PR.


	4. Chapter 4

Riverwood was… quaint Arlene had to give it that. When set against the backdrop of the mountains on one side, and the Whiterun plains on the other, she would even call it picturesque. But when one was as old and well traveled as Arlene was, all small villages like this tended to blur together. Simple farmers, smiths, woodsmen, and other artisans all trying to eek out a living, mostly likely never travelling any more than 10 miles from this village their entire lives.

But even though Arlene had seen a sight like this many times over, the people of Riverwood apparently had not seen an elf all that often as more than a few of the locals watched her with blatant stares. Of course that could always be the blood and ash stained armor she wore, but they were also mostly Nords so she couldn't be sure.

"Things look quiet enough here." Hadvar nudged Arlene from behind. "Come on, there's my uncle."

Approaching the riverside smithy, Arlene saw Hadvar's uncle Alvor. Like Hadvar he was a tall, burly nord, though she sported a thick beard and long swept back blonde hair. Even underneath his dirty red tunic and worn leather apron, Arlene could make out the elder nord's well worked muscles.

"Uncle Alvor! Hello!" Hadvar greeted as Arlene fell behind him, allowing the legionnaire to take the lead.

"Hadvar? What are you doing here? Are you on leave?" Alvor then saw the blood, ash, and dirt covering his nephew. "Shor's bones, what happened to you?" Alvor then looked to Arlene. "And who is this?"

"Uncle please, keep your voice down. I'm fine, but we need to talk." Hadvar tried to calm his uncle.

Alvor seemed to remain suspicious as he eyed Arlene up and down, Arlene feeling herself shrink under his gaze.

"Gods dammit boy she's not pregnant is she?" Avlor grunted.

Both Arlene and Hadvar flushed red while the young nord sputtered out. "What?! No Uncle she's not! She's just a friend. One that saved my life in fact. Come on, I'll explain everything inside."

"Okay okay." Alvor put up his hands. "Come inside then, Sigird will get you something to eat and you can tell me about it."

Once inside, Arlene found that Alvor and his family were nice. Or at least Alvor and his daughter were. His wife Sigird was weirdly jealous of Arlene even speaking to the smith, but at least she still got her her food and drink.

Hadvar updated his family on what occurred at Helgen, the dragon attack, their escape, and his plan to return to Solitude. With Hadvar returning to the Legion, Alvor then offered Arlene free supplies and training at his forge if she went to Whiterun and asked Jarl Balgruff to send more soldiers to protect Riverwood.

A very large part of Arlene didn't want to go meet with a Nordic Noble, especially since the last one she met almost got her killed. But Alvor's family did take her in and feed her, so it was the least she could do. The job sounded simple enough, food, supplies, and training for essentially playing a glorified courier was something she was more than willing to do.

After a well deserved night's rest at Alvor's, Arlene spent the morning learning how to forge some basic weapons and armor. Like any soldier, she was trained in maintaining her gear, but creating something from scratch was a new experience. After selling her newly forged and some scavenged Imperial equipment to Alvor, she had enough gold to head to the local general store, the Riverwood Trader, for additional supplies. After all, all of the supplies she did have were lost when the Empire captured her.

Before she left however, Arlene decided to say one last goodbye to Hadvar. She found the Nordic soldier sitting by the Alvor's fireplace, eating some stew for lunch.

"Hadvar." Arlene greeted as she entered the house.

Turning from his seat, Hadvar nodded and shifted his chair over, gesturing to the open seat beside him. "Arlene. Have a seat, Sigrid made a new batch of apple cabbage stew."

Arlene actively grimaced. While she had to adopt eating vegetables, fruits, and other such foods into her diet since leaving Valenwood, she was raised on the all-meat diet of the Wood Elves and did not find vegetarian dishes particularly palatable.

Shaking her head, Arlene said, "I'm fine for now. I just wanted to stop by and let you know I'm heading out. Probably stop by the trader's before heading to Whiterun."

Hadvar nodded as he stood. "Aye that makes sense. No reason to loiter about when there's dragons on the loose." He then walked up to Arlene and extended his hand. "Well then Arlene, it was an honor to fight by your side. Look for me in Solitude if you're ever in the area. Regardless if you want to join the Legion or not, it's always good to see a friend."

"I might just do that." Smiling, Arlene clasped Hadvar's wrist. "May the Nine watch over you, Hadvar."

Hadvar was briefly taken aback by Arlene's words, before he nodded and smiled in return. "And may the gods watch over your battles, friend."

With that, the two parted ways. Leaving the Nordic homestead behind, Arlene moved to her next destination, the Riverwood Trader. As Arlene stood outside of the two-story cobblestone and wood building however, she could hear the sounds of an argument from inside. Part of Arlene hesitated to enter. She really didn't want to get involved in some familial argument, the idea of it sending a wave of social anxiety through her. But she was also on a bit of a time crunch, and needed to stock up before heading out. So, resolving her nerves, Arlene entered the store.

"Well one of us has to do something!" Arlene heard a voice yell out, obviously female.

"I said no!" A male for shouted back, obviously tired of the argument. "No adventures, no theatrics, no thief-chasing!"

"Well what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it!" The woman yelled once more.

Entering the store, Arlene saw the two who were arguing. Both were human Imperials, the woman an attractive younger woman with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a simple yellow dress. The man had a similar facial structure, obviously marking them as kin, most likely siblings, sporting a short crew cut and well kept facial hair, wearing a simple light red tunic and vest.

"We are done talking about this!" The man motioned to yell again, before spotting Arlene out of the corner of his eye. He immediately stopped himself, and somewhat bashfully turned to face the elf. "Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that. The name's Lucan. If you need anything, my sister Camilla or I will be happy to help."

"No trouble." Arlene shook her head, wanting to get away from the awkwardness as quickly as possible. "I'm planning a trip out to Whiterun very soon. I'm well stocked enough on food and weapons, but I'll need some more general gear. A backpack, tent, bedroll, rope, tinderbox, torches, as well as any potions and spell books you may have." The sale of all of her equipment to Alvor netted her about 70 gold, which she hoped would be enough to pay for everything.

Lucan grinned widely at the high spending customer and said. "Of course! I can get all of that together and more! I will say though things like potions of healing and spellbooks are rather rare, but I'm sure I have a few laying about. If you want anything advanced you'd have to go to either a Jarl's court wizard, or the College of Winterhold." He then moved to gather all of the requested supplies.

Arlene simply nodded her head as Lucan went to work. As he shuffled about, pulling supplies and placing them on the counter, Arlene, growing bored, asked, "So… did something happen?"

Lucan stumbled a bit at Arlene's question and nervously laughed. "Yes, we did sort of have a bit of a… break in. But don't worry! We still have plenty to sell. Robbers only some ornamental, solid gold dragon's claw. Anyway, here's all of the supplies you asked for, as well as 4 potions of healing, and I found two spell tomes, one that teaches a spell called Clairvoyance, and another called Oakflesh. I couldn't make heads or tails of either, but maybe you'll have better luck. The total will run you… let's make it an even 150 gold."

It was now Arlene's turn to choke on air as she nervously laughed. "Uh… I can't afford that. But!" she quickly interjected as she saw Lucan frown. "I am, in fact, a sellsword. Perhaps there is some favor I could do for you in order to help cover this, such as help you get your claw back?" It irked Arlene to get distracted with a side job like this, but sometimes they were necessary.

Lucan stroked his beard as he thought, looking Arlene up and down. "Hmm. I think that does sound fair. Tell you what, you give me what gold you have, and I'll let you take all the gear. I have some coin coming in from my last shipment. You bring my claw back, we can subtract the difference, and you can get the rest of the coin as a reward. Deal?" Lucan asked, holding out his hand.

Arlene nodded and shook it. "Deal."

"Good. From what I know those thieves are held up in Bleak Falls Barrow, Northeast of town."

"So this is your plan, Lucan?" Camilla cut into the conversation from behind Arlene.

"Yes. Now you don't have to go, do you?" Lucan smugly retorted.

This only seemed to anger his sister. "Oh really? Well I think your new helper here needs a guide."

"Wh...no...I" Lucan sputtered out. "Oh by the Eight fine! But only to the edge of town!"

Smiling at her victory, Camilla turned to Arlene and gestured to her to follow. "Come on, this way. I'll show you the way there."

Arlene let Camilla take the lead as they walked through Riverwood's main road. Camilla gave some basic directions to the barrow, most importantly showing that it was on a mountain rather close to the village. As they walked, Camilla went off on some tirade about the thieves and how dangerous the ruins were, and about the claw itself, but in all honesty, Arlene wasn't paying attention. She paid more attention to the sway of Camilla's hips as she maintained a constant distance behind her.

"Well here we are." Camilla said as she stopped moving.

"Huh?" Arlene snapped out of her stupor and quickly raised her gaze.

"This is the bridge out of town. The path up the mountain to the Northwest leads to Bleak Falls Barrow. I should be getting back to my brother before he throws a fit, but thank you again for agreeing to help us. Skyrim is a harsh place and not everyone would be willing to help their neighbors." Camilla smiled.

Arlene felt herself flush a bit at how positively radiant Camilla looked in the midday sun. "Yeah well. It's… you know, what I do. Fight monsters… and stuff." Arlene fumbled out, causing Camilla to raise an eyebrow. "You know what, I'm just going to go kill some bandits now. I'll be back with your claw."

"Good luck." Camilla chuckled a bit at Arlene's awkward response. "Lucan and I will be waiting for you back in the shop." the Imperial then turned around and made her way back to her store.

Sighing in frustration at her own inability to flirt, Arlene made her way up the mountain pass to Bleak Falls Barrow.

* * *

Arlene practically collapsed to the ground as she stood over the body of the Draugr Overlord at the end of Bleak Falls Barrow. As impressive and intimidating as the Barrow was on the outside, once Arlene was within the ruins, she found it wasn't too different from the many Ayleid and Dwemer ruins she explored across Tamriel. Following her usual pattern of sneak in, assassinate any hostiles, then advance, Arlene made a quick headway into the grave.

Several dead bandits and lots and lots of dead giant spiders later, Arlene found herself standing within Bleak Falls Barrow over the body of Arvel the Swift, with the Golden Dragon Claw in her hands. From there, she was beset by the Nordic undead known as draugrs. The first draugr that jumped her caused Arlene to scream in a panic, but after killing a few of them, she found them to be not much more trouble than skeletons or zombies. She continued forward, and quickly solved the ancient Nordic "puzzle" of match the pictures, allowing her access to the Barrow's inner sanctum.

Within the inner chamber, Arlene was greeted with the magnificent sight of a cave that had been carved into a majestic tomb. The top of the chamber had a small opening to the outside, allowing natural light to illuminate the room. There was even a small waterfall in the back, that flowed behind a massive stone wall that had some kind of carvings on it.

Curious as to the writing, Arlene broke from her cover, inadvertently triggering the powerful Draugr Overlord entombed nearby. The overlord proved a far more difficult foe than Arlene could have anticipated. Unlike his minions, the overlord retained much more of the dexterity and skill he had possessed in his living years, allowing him to fight toe to toe with Arlene.

Arlene also did not expect the strange magic the draugr seemed to possess. As the two dueled, with Arlene attempting to slip her way passed the draugr's defenses to no avail, she was blasted backwards as the draugr seemed to _shout…_ something at her. The blast of force that hit her was unrelenting, knocking her to the ground as she couldn't resist at all. Dazed and confused, the shout almost spelt her end as the draugr slammed his axe into her prone form.

It was only the Oakflesh spell that Arlene had the foresight to cast on herself, that saved her life. The alteration spell slowed the attack enough that the blade didn't tear her in half, allowing Arlene the time to draw her iron dagger and stab it right into the draugr's eye, killing it.

Arlene remained motionless on the ground for a few seconds, the only noise in the chamber that of her heavy breathing. An easy job. This was supposed to be an easy job. Sneak in, maybe kill a few bandits and animals, and retrieve the stolen goods. Fighting an ancient, undead warlord was not something she expected she had to do today.

But, like any good adventuring hobo, Arlene had learned to roll with the punches that life threw at her. And so she picked herself up, and moved to loot the body of the overlord. The draugr's greataxe was freezing to the touch, and Arlene distinctly remembered the icy pain when it hit her. It was obviously enchanted with some Frost magick, and while she wasn't one to use great weapons, she was sure she could get a good price for it.

As she examined the axe, something else on the body caught her attention. On the draugr was some kind of pentagon-shaped stone tablet. Bending down, Arlene grabbed the tablet, and saw that it had some kind of map carved on the front, but it was rather faded and hard to tell what it was a map of.

Flipping the stone over, she found an inscription. It was not a language she'd ever seen before, but as she read it, her mouth moved automatically.

"HET NOK UN MAHLaaN DROGGE ERei SULeyK SE ALDUIN VOKRii." she spoke. She did not know the language, but she knew the meaning. Here lie our fallen lords, until the power of Alduin revives.

Arlene raised her eyebrow at the inscription and shook her head. Crazy ancient nords. She then stuffed the stone into her bag, thinking she could sell it to a historian or wizard or something. As Arlene then cleared out the rest of the tomb for treasure, getting quite a bit of gold and jewelry from a nearby chest, she then moved to the stone wall in the center of the chamber.

After a quick look over, she saw no immediate treasure, but as she looked something shining caught her eye. One of the words on the wall was glowing. Scowling, she moved closer and closer to the wall, not paying attention to how the word glew brighter and brighter and the world around her grew darker and darker. As she stood in front of the wall, Arlene almost collapsed as she felt the word _force_ itself into her mind. And force was a good term for what just happened, as she read the word as FUS, or force.

Shaking off the confusion and headache, Arlene stood up. "What in the name of Y'ffre's leafy balls was that?" Looking back at the wall, she saw that the words were no longer glowing, leaving only a stone monolith.

Almost immediately, Arlene decided to just completely ignore what just happened. This entire thing just reeked of magick, spirits, and a bunch of other stuff that she just did not want to deal with. She knew in her adventuring bones, that if she investigated this she'd get involved in some crazy quest that'd probably kill her. That was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. All she wanted to do was some good old wholesome sellswording, killing bandings, protecting nobles, scouting wilds, and the such.

And so, with a silent prayer that this wouldn't lead into anything else, Arlene left the Barrow out of a convenient exit she found at the end of the chamber.

* * *

**Present day…**

Arlene stirred in her bed, awakening to the sound of stifled giggles. Waking up, she saw her beloved Serana, currently reading something on her scroll with an amused grin on her face.

"What's so funny?" Arlene asked with a yawn, stretching as she awoke.

Rather than responding, Serana held out her scroll to Arlene. A bit confused, Arlene took the scroll and began to read. Serana was reading an article written on the Vale News Network's website titled, "A new era of progress at Beacon Academy."

Raising an eyebrow, Arlene quickly read through the article. The article was reporting on Arlene's appointment as a professor in Beacon Academy, talking about how Headmaster Ozpin was "breaking down racial barriers" at Beacon. The author was quick to praise the Headmaster for his actions, and ended with a message hoping that Arlene's appointment will help lead to greater inclusion of Faunus within the huntsmen profession, an increased respect for faunus across Vale, and a reduction in tension between faunus and humans.

Arlene snorted. "Ozpin's public announcement of my hiring was a good play. Not only did he get a new, highly skilled professor, but by making it a public spectacle, it put him in the limelight, increasing his own reputation with the faunus and their supporters outside of Beacon." Arlene couldn't help but smile as well. It was only her second day at work and Ozpin already used her for his own benefit. "Seems Ozpin may make for a fun opponent after all. He's apparently not just some senile, old wizard." Arlene said as she revised her threat rating on Ozpin.

"You only say that to justify the fact that he pulled one over on you." Serana teased.

The dragonborn pouted in response. "I'm not making excuses."

Serana leaned forward and pinched Arlene's pouting cheeks. "That's a lie. And I know every time you lie, Arlene." She let go and sat back as Arlene rubbed her cheek in pain. "Besides, even if I didn't, I know how much you hate losing. You physically cannot accept it when someone outsmarts you."

Arlene tried to come up with some kind of response, but didn't have one. So she opted to reply simply with, "Bitch."

"Child." Serana snapped back.

"Please I know you love me." Arlene smirked.

"That may be true but that doesn't make my previous statement false." Serana deadpanned.

Again, Arlene didn't have a retort. "Okay, fine, whatever." Arlene rolled her eyes as she conceded the argument. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go get ready for my first class."

* * *

Arlene stood at the edge of the Emerald Forest once more, this time surrounded dozens of students who all looked at her with varying degrees of expectations. Arlene cast her gaze over them, checking them against her roster as she called attendance. As was expected, most of her students were the freshman first years who just started, but there were a few exceptions.

Specifically, Arlene looked at a bunny-eared second year named Velvet and her team CFVY. It was curious because according to Arlene's records, team CFVY had already taken Wilderness Survival 101, and passed with flying colors. Arlene assumed they, and a few other upperclassmen, were being allowed to retake the course as Arlene could teach them far more skills than what they've already learned.

Finishing the roll call and finding everyone in attendance, Arlene began her opening speech. "Hello everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I am professor Arlene Volkihar, Beacon's newest professor of Pathfinding and Wilderness Survival. And this is Wilderness Survival 101."

She paused for a moment for everyone to take in her words before continuing. "For those of you who don't know what this class is about, despite its very clear name, this class is meant to teach you how to survive in the wilderness. And by surviving I don't mean fighting grimm and other such beasts, but by living off the land, remaining unseen by opponents, and sheltering yourself from the elements."

Arlene paced in front of the students as she spoke, gauging the students' reactions and attention. As she expected, most of the students were paying her the necessary amount of respect and attention, with the few faunus in the class looking at her with admiration, and a few humans looking at her with contempt.

She then continued her introduction. "This class will be harsh because the wilderness is harsh. I will be harsh, and because I am harsh, you will learn. You will know suffering, and you will know pain, but you will become stronger for it. And by the end of this class, you will know how to survive. Any questions?"

At first there was just stunned silence. Obviously they weren't expecting the professor to be so… intense. At least there was silence until one exceedingly brave, and stupid, voice called out.

"Yeah I got one. What's Professor Ozpin thinking letting an animal teach us?" the voice of Cardin Winchester spoke out, smugly looking at the professor as his team snickered around him.

Almost everyone in the class felt their jaws drop at that. The sheer disrespect and racism was so sudden that it took many students a few moments to actually recognize what was said. Said students then began glaring at the leader of team CRDL, particularly the faunus students and their teams.

Arlene however, barely reacted. She was at most, just mildly unamused. She had learned about the discrimiation of Faunus in this world from Doctor Oobleck, and she wasn't surprised by the fact that there were a few bigots in her class. And this was far from the first time she had experienced such intolerance.

In her experience, whenever the varying races and cultures of Tamriel intermingled there was almost always stress and conflict. That was the reality of the tribal mindsets of mortals. The Nords proved this time and time again with their treatment of the Khajiits and Dark Elves, or every time someone called her "elf" with nothing short of pure disgust. And it wasn't limited to just the humans either. The Altmer were famous xenophobes and elven supremacists, while the Dunmer were more than happy to enslave the argonians and any other unfortunate "N'wah" they could prey upon.

All in all, Arlene found that she honestly did not care about the discrimination of the faunus here on Remnant. What she did care about however, was the utter lack of disrespect this mayfly was showing her. That was unforgivable. He needed to be taught a lesson.

"Hm. Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL correct?" Arlene asked as Cardin nodded. "Front and center team CRDL. Now."

Cardin snorted as he swaggered up to the front of the class with his team, standing before Arlene.

Cockily, Cardin said to the dragonborn, "What teach? You going to punish me for using my freedom of speech?"

To his surprise, Arlene did not yell at him, or get angry. Instead she only smiled.

"Cardin Winchester. You must be quite the comedian, a real joker." She said with a pleasant tone.

"I try my best." Cardin smugly shot back.

Arlene's smile only grew bigger as she got closer to Cardin. Being a short wood elf, she had to look up to the boy to meet his gaze. "You know, I appreciate someone with confidence. Someone who isn't afraid to speak his mind. In fact, I like you. Why don't you come over to my place and you can fuck my sister."

"Wha-" Before Cardin could even finish his confused question, a deafening _CRACK_ rang out as Arlene's fist met his stomach. The punch was so sudden and so hard that not only did Cardin's aura instantly break, but his armor indented and cracked as well. Cardin fell to his knees immediately, gasping for air before he emptied his stomach on the grass.

The rest of team CRDL watched in horror as their leader vomited his breakfast out, choking on his spit.

"What, no longer feel like laughing!?" Arlene yelled at them, causing the rest of the team to snap to attention and look forward, too afraid to meet her gaze. "I thought you were a team of comedians!? A group of real chucklefucks!" No one in team CRDL made a noise as they started to sweat. "Why aren't you laughing!? Laugh mayflies!" Arlene commanded.

Russel, Dove, and Sky glanced at each other, obviously confused.

"I said laugh!" Arlene yelled again.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" The RDL trio began to scream out into the air.

"LOUDER!"

"HA! HA! HA! HA!" The boys forced out, their voices straining to scream at that volume.

As they screamed Arlene looked back down to Cardin, who was struggling to his feet. "What Winchester? Can't take a single love tap from a girl? What in the name of Oblivion are you going to do when a Grimm comes by and says hello? Bend over and die?"

Cardin couldn't respond however as he coughed out more spit, still recoiling from the sucker punch.

"What, no more jokes? I haven't been this disappointed in a recruit in a long time. I bet your mother just wishes she had swallowed you. Stand the fuck up." Arlene grabbed Cardin by the crook of his arm and yanked him up. "Now, because you are all such a group of comedians, you are no longer Team CRDL. From now on you shall be called Team Chucklefuck! Everyone here is to refer to you as Team Chucklefuck! You will only respond to Team Chucklefuck! If you respond to anything else I will make it my personal mission to destroy you. Any objections!?"

Cardin was still sucking in air while the rest of his team was too scared to say anything.

"Good." Arlene then turned to the rest of the student body, all staring at her in a mixture of fear and shock. "I want to make one thing abundantly clear! I do not care if you are a human or a faunus. I do not care if you are a man or a woman. I do not care about the color of your skin, what gods you worship, or how rich your daddy is. To me, you are all equally worthless! I will teach you all how to survive, but more importantly I will teach you all respect. And maybe one day, you will be worth more than the shit you excrete out daily. Now, unless anyone else wants to end up like Winchester here, the only back talk I should hear is, 'Yes Ma'am!' Have I made myself clear!?"

"Yes Ma'am!" the entire class spoke in unison, some even saluted involuntarily.

"Damn right." her head then snapped to Team Chucklefuck. "Collect your leader and get back to your spot."

Immediately Team Chucklefuck moved to collect their leader and swiftly returned to the crowd of students. However, everyone around them gave the team a massive berth. The team was as good as radioactive as no one wanted to get near them and draw the ire of the eccentric professor. The rest of the class was silent and unmoving, actively avoiding Arlene's gaze, not entirely sure how to react to what just happened..

"Now then, let's begin class." Arlene immediately switched to teaching mode as if nothing just happened. "First things first, besides grimm, what's most likely to kill you when lost in woods like this one? Freshmen only, upperclassmen should already know the answer to this."

The various students looked at each other, unsure if they wanted to participate. Slowly, Jaune was the first one to raise his hand, and Arlene called on him.

"Uhh, wild animals?" he unsurely supplied.

"Wrong." Arlene flatly said, causing the boy to groan. "Anyone else?"

"Starvation?" Yang called out.

Arlene shook her head. "Better, but still wrong. The body can go days without food, so you can put that off to start with. No, the two ways you'll most likely die will be either from falling, or from exposure. Now, I can't help you if you're too dumb to look where you step, but I can keep you from freezing to death.

"We can start with the most basic type of survival shelter." Arlene said as she quickly began to assemble her shelter. It was in fact a very basic shelter, essentially a wooden tent made out of branches leaning against a tree, big enough for one, maybe 2 people. "There are three things you need to make sure you protect yourself from when building a shelter. The cold ground, the cold wind, and the rain. Any one of those will sap your body heat from you and weaken you."

She then began piling leaves atop the shelter as a roof and within it as bedding. "When sleeping on the ground, the dirt itself will drain your body of heat. If you have a tarp or cloth you can make a bed using that, otherwise a pile of leaves works fine as well."

Weiss, having been sufficiently intimidated by Arlene, politely raised her hand to ask a question.

"Yes, Miss Schnee." Arlene called on her.

"Thank you professor. I wanted to know why building shelters or bedding like this is necessary when our auras protect us from extreme temperatures." Weiss asked with a respectful tone of voice.

"Good question." Arlene nodded, causing Weiss to preen. "The reason this is important is that relying on Aura to do everything for you is an easy way to die young." Weiss then deflated a bit. "What if you were fighting and were out of aura? What if you were being hounded by enemies, and needed to conserve your aura? Would you continue to use it just to constantly stay warm?" Arlene shook her head. "No, because that would be a waste. Remember, aura is a tool, but can become a crutch if you use it for everything."

Looking to inject some levity into the situation, Yang elbowed Weiss and said, "Hey don't worry. If you get cold at night Weisscream, you could cuddle up next to me."

Weiss rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Arlene interrupted. "No, that is actually a good strategy. Sharing body heat is a classic survival tactic, especially in arctic lands and winter months."

"Oh uh, yeah. That's totally why I said that." Yang somewhat bashfully said, rubbing the back of her head and somewhat embarrassed that her lewd joke was taken seriously.

"So why not just keep a fire going?" Jaune asked. When Arlene's head swiveled to face him, he nervously looked away.

"A fire, while useful, is far more difficult to get started than most people think. An untrained person with no resources outside of wood and kindle can still spend all day on it. Now, I will make you all trained, but that's not until later. Any other questions?" A general silence was the response. "Ok then. You all saw me make this shelter, and I've had some notes on the construction sent to your scrolls. Every team is to construct their own shelter, and have it finished before the end of class."

Immediately the students got to work, not willing to get on the professor's bad side with laziness. Arlene watched as the students constructed their shelters, occasionally giving notes and answering questions when asked. After about roughly half an hour, Arlene called time and moved to inspect the student's work.

Team CFVY easily had the most impressive shelter. Of course they had already taken this course, and most likely had experience in the wilderness, so that was to be expected. Arlene could see pride well up in the young Velvet Scarlatina as she complimented their shelter and gave them a pass, something her leader Coco immediately began teasing her for.

Arlene left team CFVY to their devices. Good natured teasing and joking helped build camaraderie after all, something important in a battlefield. Next she approached team JNPR, who similarly had a structure of rather decent quality. However, unlike team CFVY, when JNPR worked on their shelter, Arlene saw that Ren and Nora had done all of the work, while only Jaune and Pyrrha watched.

"A well built shelter." Arlene said as she inspected it. "But tell me, why were Ren and Nora the only ones building it?"

Both Jaune and Pyrrha grew a bit red and looked away in shame and embarrassment as Ren responded. "You see professor, both Nora and I have experience in crafting makeshift shelters such as this, as a byproduct of our childhoods. Because of our experience we found it was best for us to take the lead on this project." Both Nora and Ren beamed a bit with pride.

Arlene's face was impassive. "You say you took the lead, I say you prevented your teammates from learning. Rather than guiding them with advice where needed, you simply did all the work for them, and their skill sets now suffer as a result." Arlene bluntly hammered them, causing Ren and Nora's face to drop. "Team JNPR, you receive a failure for the day." Arlene then walked away before JNPR had a chance to argue for their grade.

Moving on, Arlene made her way to team RWBYs spot, where the team nervously stood around their shelter. When Arlene watched team RWBY work, it was obvious to her that none of them had any real experience as outdoorswomen. She saw Weiss constantly bickering with her leader Ruby about the correct way to assemble the shelter, while Yang just seemed lost. The only one who had any semblance of an idea of what to do was Blake, but unlike Ren and Nora, she was not skilled enough to carry her whole team.

Arlene approached their shelter, which only made them more nervous. Once she was there, she understood why. With a sigh, Arlene gave the shelter a slight push and the entire thing collapsed. On the outside, the shelter looked relatively usable, but it was not properly propped into the ground nor was it secured with bindings.

Team RWBY all winced as their shelter collapsed, unable to look Arlene in the eyes and she turned her blank stare at them. "You didn't secure it." Arlene simply said.

When no one responded, Yang elbowed Ruby in the ribs. The younger sister glared at the elder, before realizing that Arlene was now staring directly at her. "Uhh." Ruby started as she collected her thoughts. "We didn't have any rope, and we couldn't find any plants that were flexible enough to be a tie."

"You don't have any rope?" Arlene incredulously asked. "What about your shoelaces or ribbons. Your cloak or the hems of your skirts could also be torn and used as bindings." Ruby seemed horrified by her suggestion as she grasped her crimson cloak. "Part of surviving is improvising with what you have on hand, something which you all failed to do. Team RWBY, you fail for the day." All of team RWBY hung their heads in defeat as Arlene moved on.

Leaving them behind, Arlene didn't even need to go see what team Chucklefuck was doing to know that they had already failed. Cardin was still incapaciated over the beating he received, and his teammates spent more time bickering over what to do than actually doing anything.

Once her inspections were all over, Arlene gathered her class up. Majority of her class failed to live up to her standards and failed their first assignment. The atmosphere of the class was one of gloom and disappointment, rather different from the start.

"So…" Arlene began, drawing attention to herself. "I hope you all now understand what this class is, and what I expect from all of you. What you learn here can mean the difference between life and death in the wilderness. You should never assume you can find shelters and inns during your missions and adventures. Be glad that failing to build a structure here only resulted in a bad grade, and not death." Arlene noted that no one was really brought up by her words, but she didn't really care.

Arlene continued on. "Now, your homework is to design blueprints for a makeshift shelter. It can be the one we did in class here, or different designs you can find in your own research. You are then to write a paper analyzing the structure, primarily its strengths and weaknesses. Minimum 800 words." Multiple students groaned at the amount of work she was piling on them. "Shut up I wasn't asking for opinions. This will be done and submitted by the start of next class. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." several students barked out, while a few others groaned it out or silently nodded.

"Good. Now get out of here." Arlene gestured her head back to the main campus.

Many of the students immediately followed her orders and took flight, returning to Beacon as fast as they could. All in all, Arlene thought this was a pretty good first class.

* * *

"Would you care to explain yourself, professor Volkihar?" A somewhat enraged Glynda Goodwitch asked as she stood over Arlene's desk. Meanwhile Arlene tried very hard to maintain eye contact and not let her eyes drift over the senior professor.

"Whatever it was, it was Serana's idea." Arlene immediately denied, despite having no idea what Glynda was actually referring to.

Glynda cocked an unconvinced eyebrow. "Oh really? Serana was the one who convinced you to scare half of your students into requesting class transfers after the first day, as well as physically assaulting one of our students?"

Arlene rolled her eyes. So that's what this was about? "Please. The Winchester boy is at best just another body for the meat grinder, and at worst a detriment to every huntsman and huntswoman he will work with."

Sighing and shaking her head, Glynda pinched the bridge of her nose. "Mr. Winchester may be a delinquent, as his abhorrent actions and attitude towards you very much proved, we as a school have ways of handling harassment and disciplining students that do not require physical assault."

"There's no need to get all uppity about this Glynda." Arlene sat back in her seat. "Winchester was being a little shit, so I just taught him the pecking order. It's just like what I had to go through in basic training."

"This is not the army." Glynda deadpanned.

"Really?" Now it was Arlene's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Here I thought that we were training children how to fight and kill by the hundreds. Sounds like building an army to me."

Glynda took a calm breath before responding to Arlene's jab. "They are here to become defenders of Remnant, to protect it from the Grimm."

"Defending Remnant would also mean protecting it from the humans and faunus that mean to hurt it." Arlene countered. "Last I checked bandits were the second most common prey for huntsmen, after the Grimm. And no single huntsmen can fight all of these terrors alone, ergo the need for an army."

"Huntsmen aren't controlled by the government like soldiers are." Glynda fired back. "We cannot be ordered to go to war. We choose what jobs we want to take."

Arlene shrugged. "Fine you're building an army of mercenaries, not soldiers. My point still stands."

A frown immediately marred Glynda's face before she sighed, taking another deep breath. "I am not here to debate the morality of being a huntsman. What I am here to do is ensure that no physical altercations will occur between you and the students again."

"I won't lay a hand on the mayflies so long as they don't give me a reason to." Arlene honestly said. "But Winchester needed to be brought down a peg or three. I could tell he was the biggest fish in a tiny pond before getting here. He was arrogant and misjudged his strength against his opponent. Something you would agree would be lethal in the field. Better I give him a cold dose of reality than a Grimm."

Glynda's countenance remained blank. "You know, we have a saying here in Remnant about pots and kettles. It's meant to teach about hypocrisy."

Arlene barked out a laugh in response. "I may be arrogant, but I am at least fully aware of my abilities and what I can do. Winchester wasn't."

"This doesn't change the fact that you not only brought down Mr. Winchester's arrogance, but you broke his confidence. That is why I am saying you should have handled this differently. We are here to build students up, not tear them down."

Arlene dismissed Glynda's point with a shake of her head. "If Winchester winds up dropping out because of something like this then he's not huntsman material anyway. Otherwise, he'll have to pull his head out of his ass, learn some respect, and actually become something. Win win either way."

Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere, Glynda sighed. "Do you truly not feel any remorse about what you did?"

"Nope." Arlene immediately responded, popping the 'p.'

Glynda's face immediately hardened into an even colder and more professional mask. "Fine then. Because Mr. Winchester started this with his bigotted behavior, I can overlook your actions just this once." Glynda then withdrew her riding crop and leaned in close to Arlene. "But if you so much as harm a hair on another one of _my_ students, you will answer to me."

Looking into Glynda's eyes, Arlene couldn't help but feel rather surprised. Glynda's gaze was serious and focused, not intimidated by Arlene in the slightest. If Arlene stepped out of line, Glynda was more than willing to intervene to protect her students. In all honesty, it was refreshing having someone stand up to her like this. She was so infamous back in Tamriel that anyone who knew her walked on eggshells around her, for fear of waking the dragon.

"You know Glynda, I think I misjudged you." Arlene said with a smile. "I thought you were, at best, a minion for Ozpin. But you have a fire in you. Do you want to get a drink? Maybe come back to my room after for some fun?" Let it be known that the Dragonborn was not one who pursued easy targets.

To her credit, Glynda did not react at all to Arelene's blunt flirtation. "No." she coldly declined before turning around and walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N, 12/06/20: And we're back. First I would like to say that this fic is not dead. I had just found that writing 3 fics simultaneously was a bit too much work, and wanted to see if I could finish my other fics before returning to this one. While I haven't finished them yet, I just wanted to write up another chapter of Spinner of Webs so you all know that this fic isn't abandoned.
> 
> Anyway, we have our first class and the good old racist Cardin Winchester. I went through a few ideas of what Arlene would do to Cardin, ranging from simply charming him to even poisoning him. In the end, I felt like a "Full Metal Jacket" reference was the way to go.


End file.
